Why the Pentagon Isn’t Happy With the F-35
- Costliest weapons system reviewed by Pentagon’s testing chief
- ‘No significant improvement’ in aircraft available in years
A Lockheed Martin Corp. F-35
Source: USAFThis article is for subscribers only.
Efforts to improve the reliability of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 are “stagnant,” undercut by problems such as aircraft sitting idle over the last year awaiting spare parts from the contractor, according to the Pentagon’s testing office.
The availability of the fighter jet for missions when needed -- a key metric -- remains “around 50 percent, a condition that has existed with no significant improvement since October 2014, despite the increasing number of aircraft,” Robert Behler, the Defense Department’s new director of operational testing, said in an annual report delivered Tuesday to senior Pentagon leaders and congressional committees.