Pentagon Can’t Track Millions of F-35 Spare Parts, Watchdog Finds
GAO says incomplete contractor data and weak inventory controls leave 17,000 parts unrecorded and could hinder F-35 readiness, officials said.
- On Monday, the Government Accountability Office reported the Pentagon cannot reliably track its global pool of roughly 26 million F-35 spare parts, collectively worth about $31 billion.
- The F-35 Joint Program Office failed to record over 17,000 parts worth an estimated $1.3 billion currently undergoing maintenance or repair, leaving critical inventory gaps in the system.
- Integration gaps plague the Enterprise Logistics Management System, which cannot connect directly to contractor-managed property systems, forcing reliance on quarterly data submissions that are often three months old.
- These accountability deficiencies contribute significantly to the Pentagon's inability to pass financial audits and complicate the $13.7 billion Global Support Solution Reset strategy aimed at improving readiness.
- The F-35 Joint Program Office concurred with all GAO recommendations and is "actively working" to modernize its infrastructure by establishing direct, real-time data interfaces with prime contractors.
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55 Articles
Pentagon has made 'minimal progress' in accounting for parts since problems were identified 7 years ago, Government Accountability Office says
US F-35 supply-chain leaks aiding and abetting China’s rival J
Mounting US supply-chain failures and decades of relentless Chinese espionage are exposing the flagship F-35 stealth fighter program to critical security leaks, handing China potential windfalls to advance its rival J-35 fleet and challenge US air superiority across the Indo-Pacific. This month, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report stating that the US Department […]
NEWS HEADLINES: Pentagon Can’t TRACK $31B in F-35 Parts
Photo: Steve Mann / Shutterstock Inventory accountability is strategy, not bookkeeping: when a fighter program’s global spares pool cannot be seen in real time or trusted for accuracy, commanders, maintainers, and auditors are all flying blind. At a Glance GAO found the F-35 program’s official records for spare parts outdated, inaccurate, and incomplete, undermining basic asset accountability. Roughly 26 million F-35 parts, valued at about $31 b…
Pentagon’s $31 bn F-35 inventory mess: Hong Kong parts diversion haunts Trump ahead of Xi meeting?
The Pentagon is facing fresh questions over its ability to track the parts that keep America’s F-35 stealth fighters operational. A new Government Accountability Office report says the programme cannot reliably account for more than 17,000 components worth an estimated $1.3 billion, within a global spare-parts pool valued at around $31 billion. The findings come weeks after a shipment of F-35 components travelling from Australia to the United St…
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