F-35 a good deal for India? Performance under Radar.

U.S. Report Flags Rising Costs and Declining Performance

U.S. President Donald Trump proposes the deal for fifth generation F-35 fighter to India. Meanwhile, a US report on the performance of the plane is catching attention. According to the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), the fleet’s overall availability has trended downward considerably over the past 5 years. None of the variants of the plane is meeting availability goals. The United States Government Accountability Office is an independent and nonpartisan government agency. It operates within the legislative branch. It provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the supreme audit institution of the federal government of the United States. It is also known as the “congressional watchdog” .The agency is headed by the Comptroller General of the United States. The comptroller general is appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate.

In the report released in April 2024, by GAO on F-35, the Sustainment Costs Continue to Rise While Planned Use and Availability Have Decreased

Fast Facts

The F-35 plane is DOD’s most advanced and costly weapon system. DOD now has about 630, plans to buy about 1,800 more, and intends to use them through 2088.

We reported in this Q&A that DOD’s projected costs to sustain the fleet keep increasing—from $1.1 trillion in 2018 to $1.58 trillion in 2023. Yet DOD plans to fly the F-35 less than originally estimated, partly because of reliability issues with the plane. The plane’s ability to carry out its mission has also trended downward over the past 5 years.

We’ve made 43 recommendations to improve the F-35 program in recent years. DOD has yet to implement 30 of them.
Highlights

What GAO Found?
The F-35 Lightning II plane is the Department of Defense’s (DOD) most ambitious and costly weapon system. It is also its most advanced fighter plane. DOD operates and sustains about 630 such planes. It plans to buy about 2,500 total by mid-2040. The projected planned life of the is upto 2080.

Nonetheless, DOD’s projected costs for sustaining the F-35 continue to increase while planned use of the aircraft declines. Specifically:

Sustainment cost estimates have increased 44 percent, from $1.1 trillion in 2018 to $1.58 trillion in 2023.
DOD’s planned use of the F-35 and its availability have decreased. The Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps forecast lower flight hours for the F-35. These are lower than initially expected each year. The F-35 fleet’s overall availability has trended downward considerably over the past 5 years, and none of the variants of the plane (i.e., the F-35A, F-35B, and F-35C) are meeting availability goals.
The Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps have made progress in meeting their affordability targets (i.e., the amount of money they project they can afford to spend per plane per year for maintaining the plane). This is partly due to the reduction in planned flight hours. It is also because the Air Force increased the amount of money it projects it can afford to spend. DOD presently estimates the Air Force will pay $6.6 million annually to run and sustain an individual plane. This continues to be well above the $4.1 million original target. In June 2023, the Air Force increased its budget. It can now afford to spend $6.8 million per year per F-35 plane.
DOD has pursued cost savings efforts and continues to look for new ways to reduce costs. Still, DOD officials generally agree on something. They think these efforts are not fundamentally going to change the estimated costs to run the plane.

Why GAO Did This Study
DOD plans to use the F-35 plane through 2088. The department plans to spend over $2 trillion on acquisition and Sustainment. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 includes a provision. GAO is to conduct an annual review of F-35 sustainment efforts. This review includes evaluating DOD’s ability to reduce sustainment costs. It also assesses efforts to keep the affordability of the fleet. This report provides information on the F-35 sustainment cost estimates over the life of the program. It details actions taken by the Joint Program Office to reduce sustainment costs. It also evaluates the extent to which the fleet has met performance goals. GAO analyzed DOD’s F-35 sustainment cost estimates and performance data and interviewed cognizant DOD officials about these issues.

Recommendations
Since 2014, GAO has made 43 recommendations designed to improve the department’s operation and sustainment of the F-35 program. While DOD concurred with many of these recommendations and has implemented some of them, 30 (about 70 percent) stay unimplemented. For example, DOD has not implemented GAO’s recommendations that it update the sustainment strategy for the F-35 engine. It should also improve the program’s management of spare parts. Additionally, it should reassess government and contractor responsibility for different aspects of F-35 sustainment.