US’s claim of F-35 fighter jet being ‘world’s best exposed’ by Pentagon audit with shocking revelations

New Delhi: A Pentagon audit of the US Air Force’s F-35 fighter jets has made shocking revelations, which are giving sleepless nights to Lockheed Martin, the company that manufactures the F-35. The audit found that the F-35 has failed in terms of reliability, cost, and its ability to carry out political missions. As a result, several countries in Europe and Asia are looking at alternatives such as the Eurofighter Typhoon, Rafale, and Gripen. Furthermore, these countries are also focusing on developing their own fighter jets, which is directly impacting the US defense market.

What The Audit Report Said

The audit report stated that the DoD Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program has been hampered by its extreme technical complexity, the goal of creating three highly specialized aircraft variants from a single design, significant supply chain issues, manufacturing issues, and persistent software update problems. The JSF program is a joint effort among nine countries (the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Australia, Denmark, and Norway), each planning to purchase a certain number of aircraft through the program.

However, in July 2019, the United States removed Turkey from the list of partners after Turkey purchased Russia’s S-400 missile system. Turkey had initially planned to purchase approximately 100 JSF aircraft through this program.

F-35 Variants Increased The Problems

The audit also stated that the main challenge in developing the F-35 on time has been designing a single aircraft frame to meet three different military requirements. In fact, three variants of the F-35 are manufactured: the first is the conventional take-off version (F-35A), the second is the short take-off/vertical landing version for the Marine Corps (F-35B), and the third is the carrier-based operation version for the US Navy (F-35C). Significant compromises, not only in design but also technically, had to be made in the development of each variant. This has created several challenges in their production.

Software Development Increases Tensions

The report also states that F-35 software development has emerged as a major problem. The current Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) is being upgraded to enable the production of Block 4 aircraft, but this is taking a considerable amount of time. In addition, contractors involved in the F-35 program are experiencing delays in delivering engines and aircraft. They are also facing manufacturing problems and parts shortages. Reports indicate that a large number of F-35 fighter jets are unable to receive their Final Operational Certificate (FOC) due to the lack of certain components.

Delay In F-35 Deliveries

Earlier, a report released on September 3 by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) stated that Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the F-35 fighter jet, and Pratt & Whitney, the engine manufacturer, failed to deliver on time. In 2023, F-35 fighter jets delivered by these two companies arrived an average of 61 days late. In 2024, this problem worsened as every F-35 delivered this year arrived late by an average of 238 days.