The Government Accountability Office, in its latest assessment of the F-35 program, is calling on Congress to block all funding on the next developmental increment of the jet until the Pentagon can provide a new cost assessment in an effort to avoid authorizing billions on a program before the real costs are understood. There has been substantial progress on the F-35 program, and the Pentagon is looking to build on that with a request for $9.8 billion in 2019, according to the
, released Tuesday. “However, in its rush to cross the finish line, the program has made some decisions that are likely to affect aircraft performance and reliability and maintainability for years to come,” said the GAO. Sustainability costs and spare parts shortages are already impacting the fleet, and need to be addressed. The GAO calls on Congress to block funding for Block 4 development until the Pentagon produces a report of a complete acquisition program baseline, including an independent cost estimate, technology readiness assessments, a test and evaluation master plan, a system engineering plan, a preliminary design review, and an approved acquisition strategy. The GAO also calls on the Pentagon to resolve critical deficiencies before a full rate production decision and update the F-35’s reliability and maintainability improvement program, suggestions the Defense Department agreed with. F-35 Program Executive Vice Adm. Mat Winter in a statement said there were no surprises in the report, and there are already actions in progress to address the deficiencies the GAO identified.
