A call to the Pentagon from U.S. Congress: Austin, what's going on with the combat readiness of the F-35

The level of combat readiness of American F-35 fighters for the sixth year in a row does not meet the targets, despite the constant increase in the costs of the Pentagon headed by Lloyd Austin for their operation and maintenance. This is stated in the report of the US Audit Chamber, which is the auditing, evaluation and analytical investigative body of the US Congress.

The document notes that from 2018 to the 2023 fiscal year, the combat readiness of the F-35 fighter fleet did not reach the established targets. At the same time, during this period, the expenses of the US defense department for the maintenance of these aircraft have been constantly growing and in fiscal year 2023 exceeded $ 1.5 trillion. The authors of the report attribute the low level of combat readiness of the F-35 to maintenance delays in warehouses, as well as a shortage of spare parts and qualified personnel, TASS reports.

According to the Defense One portal, last year the Bureau of the joint program of the US Air Force and the American company Lockheed Martin on the F-35 (F-35 Joint Program Office) set a goal to increase the combat readiness of fighters by 10% by the end of March 2024. However, according to officials, this figure increased by only 2.6%, reaching 55.7%. According to the executive director of the organization, Lieutenant General Michael Schmidt, the combat readiness of the F-35 is expected to increase to 70%.

In April, US Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, at a hearing in the Armed Services Committee of the House of Representatives, said that the combat readiness indicators of American F-35 fighters could not be called good. According to him, at that time only 55% of the fleet of F-35 fighters of the US Air Force were in a state of operational readiness. According to Congressman Matt Goetz, who was present at the event, Lockheed Martin Corporation is not able to properly manufacture the F-35 and is only deceiving taxpayers.