U.S. F-35 fleet fell short of readiness targets, audit finds
The U.S. military’s F-35 fighter jet program, the country’s most expensive weapons system, has faced persistent performance issues. A new report reveals that the fleet’s readiness fell well below required standards in 2024, yet the Pentagon continued payments to Lockheed Martin without imposing penalties.
The F-35 program, with projected lifetime costs exceeding $2 trillion, struggled with aircraft availability last year. Official figures show the jets were mission-ready only about 50% of the time—17 percentage points below the Pentagon’s 67% minimum requirement. Despite this shortfall, Lockheed Martin, the program’s main contractor, received roughly $1.7 billion without financial consequences.
Investigations found that contract terms lacked clear, measurable benchmarks for aircraft performance. This gap made it difficult to enforce penalties when targets were missed. Weak oversight by the Pentagon also played a role, with deficiencies in material inspections and reporting for government-owned equipment. The issues extended beyond readiness rates. Contractual loopholes and insufficient monitoring allowed the problems to persist, leaving the military with a fleet that spent nearly half of 2024 grounded.
The Pentagon’s failure to enforce penalties has raised concerns about accountability in the F-35 program. With no clear performance metrics in place, the military continues to fund a system that has yet to meet its operational goals. The findings highlight ongoing challenges in managing the costly fighter jet initiative.
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