F-35 Deliveries Lagging, GAO Report Highlights Need for Production Improvements

According to a report released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program is facing significant challenges with late aircraft and engine deliveries, as well as escalating costs for its modernization efforts. The report, GAO-25-107632, identifies critical areas where the Department of Defense (DOD) needs to implement changes to improve future development and delivery timelines for this vital national security asset. The findings suggest that despite substantial financial incentives, delivery schedules have continued to worsen, and production plans may outpace contractors’ current capabilities.

The GAO’s analysis reveals that in 2024, all 110 F-35 aircraft delivered by Lockheed Martin were late, with an average delay of 238 days. This marks a considerable increase from the previous year, when aircraft deliveries were late by an average of 61 days. These delays are largely attributed to issues with Lockheed Martin’s Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) upgrade, a $1.9 billion package of hardware and software enhancements essential for the program’s Block 4 modernization. The Block 4 modernization itself has experienced substantial cost growth, exceeding original estimates by over $6 billion, and is now projected to be at least five years behind schedule.

Despite these persistent delivery delays, the DOD has continued to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in incentive fees to contractors, including Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney, intended to encourage timely delivery. However, the structure of these incentives has allowed contractors to still earn a portion of the fee even when delivering aircraft up to 60 days late. The GAO recommends that the DOD reevaluate its incentive fee structures to ensure they are better aligned with achieving desired production outcomes and do not inadvertently reward late deliveries. Furthermore, the report suggests that evaluating Lockheed Martin’s capacity to meet future delivery targets is crucial for establishing realistic production schedules.

The F-35 program is planning to increase production rates significantly through 2032. However, the GAO’s findings indicate that contractors have struggled to meet current delivery demands, raising concerns about the feasibility of these expanded production goals. The report emphasizes that the program can benefit from adopting leading practices in product development to accelerate the delivery of capabilities to the warfighter. This includes greater utilization of modern design tools, such as digital models that can be tested in simulated environments, to streamline the development process.

In response to these findings, the GAO has made six recommendations to the DOD. These include ensuring the F-35 program office assesses Lockheed Martin’s production capacity, reevaluating incentive fee usage, and expanding the adoption of leading product development practices. The DOD has concurred with four of the recommendations and partially concurred with two, stating it is taking actions to address them. The GAO acknowledges the DOD’s initial steps but believes further action is necessary to fully implement the recommendations. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is a critical component of U.S. national security, providing advanced stealth technology and sensor networking capabilities. The lifecycle cost for the program, including modernization, operation, and sustainment of the planned 2,470 aircraft, is estimated to exceed $2 trillion.

Article by Ken Buckler, based upon information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office

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