Snowballing Delays In F-35 Development Lead To Increased DOD Risk, GAO Says

‘If DOD moves forward as planned, it will have bought a third of all F-35s before determining that the aircraft is ready to move into the full-rate production phase,’ GAO warned.

Kimberly Johnson

Wednesday, April 27, 2022 at 09:23 AM ET

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A magnet on the F-35 turbomachine includes cobalt and samarium alloy determined to be produced in China. [Courtesy: Department of Defense]

Key Takeaways:

The Department of Defense (DOD) is significantly increasing financial risk by purchasing F-35 Lightning II fighters at high rates before crucial operational testing is completed.
Operational testing for the F-35 program is stalled due to ongoing delays in developing a vital simulator needed to determine the fighter's performance and reliability.
This procurement strategy means that performance issues identified later will require more expensive fixes, while existing F-35s in the fleet are already underperforming and a Block 4 modernization effort faces significant delays and cost overruns.

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The Department of Defense (DOD) is facing extra financial risk amid already rising program costs by buying F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters before operational testing is completed, according to a new report issued by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).

The DOD is planning to buy up to 152 F-35 aircraft annually, despite the fact the program remains stalled in operational testing due to holdups in developing the F-35 simulator that is crucial in determining the performance and reliability of the fighter, the GAO said.