F-35 Aircraft: DOD and the Military Services Need to Reassess the Future Sustainment Strategy
GAO-23-105341
Published: Sep 21, 2023. Publicly Released: Sep 21, 2023.
Fast Facts
In the coming decades, the Department of Defense plans to spend an estimated $1.7 trillion on nearly 2,500 F-35s. Most of the funds will go to operating, maintaining, and repairing the aircraft.
DOD faces costly maintenance issues for the F-35, such as:
Delays setting up military service depots—facilities to complete the most complex repairs
Inadequate equipment to keep aircraft operational
Maintenance and supply delays affecting aircraft readiness
Also, while DOD intends to transition more maintenance responsibilities from contractors to the government, it doesn't have a plan to achieve this goal.
Our recommendations address these issues.
The F-35
Highlights
What GAO Found
Maintenance challenges negatively affect F-35 aircraft readiness. The F-35 fleet mission capable rate—the percentage of time the aircraft can perform one of its tasked missions—was about 55 percent in March 2023, far below program goals. This performance was due in part to challenges with depot and organizational maintenance (see fig.). The program was behind schedule in establishing depot maintenance activities to conduct repairs. As a result, component repair times remained slow with over 10,000 waiting to be repaired—above desired levels. At the same time, organizational-level maintenance has been affected by a number of issues, including a lack of technical data and training.
F-35 Maintenance Challenges Negatively Affecting Aircraft Readiness
The Department of Defense (DOD) relies heavily on its contractor to lead and manage F-35 sustainment (see fig.). However, as DOD seeks expanded government control, it has neither (1) determined the desired mix of government and contractor roles, nor (2) identified and obtained the technical data needed to support its desired mix. The military services must take over management of F-35 sustainment by October 2027 and have an opportunity to make adjustments—specifically to the contractor-managed elements. Reassessing its approach could help DOD address its maintenance challenges and reduce costs.
Responsibility for the 12 F-35 Sustainment Elements
Why GAO Did This Study
The F-35 aircraft, with its advanced capabilities, represents a growing portion of DOD's tactical aviation fleet—with about 450 of the aircraft fielded. DOD plans to procure nearly 2,500 F-35s at an estimated life cycle cost of the program exceeding $1.7 trillion. Of this amount, $1.3 trillion are associated with operating and sustaining the aircraft.
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 included a provision for GAO to review F-35 sustainment efforts. This report, among other things, assesses the extent to which (1) challenges exist with F-35 depot and organizational-level maintenance, and (2) DOD has determined its desired mix of government and contractor sustainment support for the future.
GAO reviewed F-35 program documentation, reviewed readiness and performance data, visited two F-35 depots and three operational installations, conducted a survey of all 15 F-35 installations, and interviewed officials.
Recommendations
GAO is making seven recommendations to DOD, including reassessing F-35 sustainment elements to determine government and contractor responsibility and any required technical data, and making final decisions on changes to F-35 sustainment to address performance and affordability. DOD concurred with all of GAO's recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, in consultation with the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the Air Force, and the F-35 Joint Program Office, reassesses the approach for the F-35's information technology systems continuous support sustainment element, to determine: (1) whether the government or contractor should assume primary responsibility; (2) what changes, if any, the Navy and Air Force should make to the leadership, responsibility, and oversight of specific sustainment activities; (3) what intellectual property the Navy and Air Force require to support any changes, including all critical technical data needs, their associated costs, and milestones to acquire the data; and (4) any Navy and Air Force resources needed to implement any changes. (Recommendation 1) |
DOD agreed with the recommendation. As of April 2024, DOD has established implementation teams to address the transfer of F-35 sustainment elements, including information technology, to the military services from the F-35 Joint Program Office. Generally, the implementation teams are working to identify requirements, funding, timelines, and milestones to support the transfer of sustainment elements to the military services, as well as to support any of the co-related implementation teams. DOD plans to transfer the information technology sustainment element for the F-35 after fiscal year 2027. To fully address the recommendation, DOD needs to finalize its plans, including whether the government or contractor should assume primary responsibility for the sustainment element, any intellectual property that is required to support any changes, as well as any additional resources needed to implement the change. By doing so, DOD would be better positioned to ensure that the F-35 program is prepared to sustain the aircraft effectively and efficiently in the future.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, in consultation with the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the Air Force, and the F-35 Joint Program Office, reassesses the approach for the F-35's maintenance planning and management sustainment element, to determine: (1) whether the government or contractor should assume primary responsibility of the element for the Air Force and Navy, (2) what changes, if any, the Navy and Air Force should make to the leadership, responsibility, and oversight of specific sustainment activities, (3) what intellectual property the Navy and Air Force require to support any changes, including all critical technical data needs, their associated costs, and milestones to acquire the data, and (4) any Navy and Air Force resources needed to implement any changes. (Recommendation 2) |
DOD agreed with the recommendation. As of April 2024, DOD has established implementation teams to address the transfer of F-35 sustainment elements, including maintenance, to the military services from the F-35 Joint Program Office. Generally, the implementation teams are working to identify requirements, funding, timelines, and milestones to support the transfer of sustainment elements to the military services, as well as to support any of the co-related implementation teams. DOD aims for the maintenance sustainment element for the F-35 to achieve initial operation capability with the military services by fiscal year 2027. To fully address the recommendation, DOD needs to finalize its plans, including whether the government or contractor should assume primary responsibility for the sustainment element, any intellectual property that is required to support any changes, as well as any additional resources needed to implement the change. By doing so, DOD would be better positioned to ensure that the F-35 program is prepared to sustain the aircraft effectively and efficiently in the future.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, in consultation with the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the Air Force, and the F-35 Joint Program Office, reassesses the approach for the F-35's supply support sustainment element, to determine: (1) whether the government or contractor should assume primary responsibility of the element for the Navy and Air Force, (2) what changes, if any, the Navy and Air Force should make to the leadership, responsibility, and oversight of specific sustainment activities, (3) what intellectual property the Navy and Air Force require to support any changes, including all critical technical data needs, their associated costs, and milestones to acquire the data, and (4) any Navy and Air Force resources needed to implement any changes. (Recommendation 3) |
DOD agreed with the recommendation. As of April 2024, DOD has established implementation teams to address the transfer of F-35 sustainment elements, including supply, to the military services from the F-35 Joint Program Office. Generally, the implementation teams are working to identify requirements, funding, timelines, and milestones to support the transfer of sustainment elements to the military services, as well as to support any of the co-related implementation teams. DOD aims for the supply sustainment element for the F-35 to achieve initial operation capability with the military services by fiscal year 2027. To fully address the recommendation, DOD needs to finalize its plans, including whether the government or contractor should assume primary responsibility for the sustainment element, any intellectual property that is required to support any changes, as well as any additional resources needed to implement the change. By doing so, DOD would be better positioned to ensure that the F-35 program is prepared to sustain the aircraft effectively and efficiently in the future.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, in consultation with the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the Air Force, and the F-35 Joint Program Office, reassesses the approach for the F-35's support equipment sustainment element, to determine: (1) whether the government or contractor should assume primary responsibility of the element for the Navy and Air Force, (2) what changes, if any, the Navy and Air Force should make to the leadership, responsibility, and oversight of specific sustainment activities, (3) what intellectual property the Navy and Air Force require to support any changes, including all critical technical data needs, their associated costs, and milestones to acquire the data, and (4) any Navy and Air Force resources needed to implement any changes. (Recommendation 4) |
DOD agreed with the recommendation. As of April 2024, DOD has established implementation teams to address the transfer of F-35 sustainment elements, including support equipment, to the military services from the F-35 Joint Program Office. Generally, the implementation teams are working to identify requirements, funding, timelines, and milestones to support the transfer of sustainment elements to the military services, as well as to support any of the co-related implementation teams. DOD plans to transfer the support equipment sustainment element for the F-35 after fiscal year 2027. To fully address the recommendation, DOD needs to finalize its plans, including whether the government or contractor should assume primary responsibility for the sustainment element, any intellectual property that is required to support any changes, as well as any additional resources needed to implement the change. By doing so, DOD would be better positioned to ensure that the F-35 program is prepared to sustain the aircraft effectively and efficiently in the future.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, in consultation with the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the Air Force, and the F-35 Joint Program Office, reassesses the approach for the F-35's sustaining engineering sustainment element, to determine: (1) whether the government or contractor should assume primary responsibility of the element for the Navy and Air Force, (2) what changes, if any, the Navy and Air Force should make to the leadership, responsibility, and oversight of specific sustainment activities, (3) what intellectual property the Navy and Air Force require to support any changes, including all critical technical data needs, their associated costs, and milestones to acquire the data, and (4) any Navy and Air Force resources needed to implement any changes. (Recommendation 5) |
DOD agreed with the recommendation. As of April 2024, DOD stated that the engineering sustainment support element will remain with the F-35 Joint Program Office because the element is closely tied to on-going acquisition and development activities for the F-35. However, we have not been provided with documentation of DOD's assessment of this sustainment element. Until we do so, this recommendation will remain open.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, in consultation with the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the Air Force, and the F-35 Joint Program Office, reassesses the approach for the F-35's training and training support sustainment element, to determine: (1) whether the government or contractor should assume primary responsibility of the element for the Navy and Air Force, (2) what changes, if any, the Navy and Air Force should make to the leadership, responsibility, and oversight of specific sustainment activities, (3) what intellectual property the Navy and Air Force require to support any changes, including all critical technical data needs, their associated costs, and milestones to acquire the data, and (4) any Navy and Air Force resources needed to implement any changes. (Recommendation 6) |
DOD agreed with the recommendation. As of April 2024, DOD has established implementation teams to address the transfer of F-35 sustainment elements, including training, to the military services from the F-35 Joint Program Office. Generally, the implementation teams are working to identify requirements, funding, timelines, and milestones to support the transfer of sustainment elements to the military services, as well as to support any of the co-related implementation teams. DOD plans to transfer the training sustainment element for the F-35 after fiscal year 2027. To fully address the recommendation, DOD needs to finalize its plans, including whether the government or contractor should assume primary responsibility for the sustainment element, any intellectual property that is required to support any changes, as well as any additional resources needed to implement the change. By doing so, DOD would be better positioned to ensure that the F-35 program is prepared to sustain the aircraft effectively and efficiently in the future.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, in consultation with the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the Air Force, and the F-35 Joint Program Office, reassesses the approach for the F-35's technical data sustainment element, to determine: (1) whether the government or contractor should assume primary responsibility of the element for the Navy and Air Force, (2) what changes, if any, the Navy and Air Force should make to the leadership, responsibility, and oversight of specific sustainment activities, (3) any critical technical data needs for the Navy and Air Force , their associated costs, and milestones to acquire them, and (4) any Navy and Air Force resources needed to implement any changes. (Recommendation 7) |
DOD agreed with the recommendation. As of April 2024, DOD has established implementation teams to address the transfer of F-35 sustainment elements, including technical data, to the military services from the F-35 Joint Program Office. Generally, the implementation teams are working to identify requirements, funding, timelines, and milestones to support the transfer of sustainment elements to the military services, as well as to support any of the co-related implementation teams. DOD aims for the technical data sustainment element for the F-35 to achieve initial operation capability with the military services by fiscal year 2027. To fully address the recommendation, DOD needs to finalize its plans, including whether the government or contractor should assume primary responsibility for the sustainment element, any intellectual property that is required to support any changes, as well as any additional resources needed to implement the change. By doing so, DOD would be better positioned to ensure that the F-35 program is prepared to sustain the aircraft effectively and efficiently in the future.
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