U.S. Government Accountability Office (GOA) reports that F-35 aircraft sustainment costs to reach $2 trillion while operational availability decreases. The GOA published a report to Congressional Committees yesterday to indicate the current costs of F-35 fleets to the U.S. The 18-page report states that the Pentagon’s most costly weapon system is the F-35 Lightning II aircraft (F-35). It adds that the Pentagon operates and maintains approximately 630 F-35 aircraft and intends to purchase approximately 2,500 more by the mid-2040s.
The Department of Defence intends to utilise the F-35 fighter until 2088, spending more than $2 trillion on acquisition and sustainment.
According to the GOA report, sustainment cost estimates have climbed by 44 per cent from around $1.1 trillion in 2018 to roughly $1.58 trillion in 2023. One factor for the higher cost projections is the aircraft's extended service life. The Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, on the other hand, expect to fly fewer F-35s each year than previously predicted. In part due to the reduction in flight hours.
According to GOA, the Air Force will pay $6.6 million a year to operate and maintain each aircraft. This will exceed the $4.1 million original aim.
According to inspections, the F-35 fleet's overall availability has declined significantly over the last five years, and none of the variants are reaching availability targets, such as the percentage of time the aircraft can conduct one of its assigned tasks.
GOA has submitted 43 recommendations to improve the department's F-35 programme operations and sustainability during the past ten years. It appears that the Department of Defence (DOD) agreed with many of these recommendations and has implemented some of them, however over 70 per cent remain unimplemented.
The DOD estimates that the F-35 programme will cost more than $2 trillion to purchase, operate, and support over its lifespan.
