F-35 Has Serious Problems Risking Safety, Costing DOD $ 300M Since 2015:

Washington, D.C. (June 23, 2020)—Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security, and Committee Members Jackie Speier and Ro Khanna sent a letter to Lockheed Martin CEO James D. Taiclet requesting information on the company’s failure to deliver spare parts for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter that were ready for installation.

“The military is spending tens of millions of dollars a year to overcome unresolved issues with the system Lockheed Martin built and maintains to track spare parts for the F-35,” said the Members.  “These problems must be resolved quickly as they create a significant administrative burden for military maintenance personnel.  As the F-35 fleet grows, it is critical that ongoing issues related to spare parts and the shortcoming of the information technology system that supports the F-35 are addressed to prevent continued degradation of warfighter readiness.  It is imperative that Lockheed Martin be held accountable for meeting its contractual obligations and that taxpayer money is spent efficiently and effectively.” 

In June 2019, the Department of Defense (DOD) Inspector General (IG) estimated that DOD spent more than $300 million on additional labor costs between 2015 and 2018 as a result of Lockheed Martin’s failure to provide F-35 spare parts with logs and that DOD will continue to pay $55 million a year if issues are not resolved.

In March 2020, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that , at one location, F-35 maintenance personnel warned that during a six-month period in 2019, they experienced up to 400 issues per week of inaccurate or missing electronic logs.

In May 2020, during a Committee briefing, multiple military leaders emphasized the need to quickly resolve the issues with spare parts and ALIS, so the military services can focus on meeting the needs of their warfighters and ensuring military readiness.

The Committee asked Lockheed Martin to produce documents by June 30, 2020.

A Few Highlights if the Letter to Lockheed:

The Committee is investigating Lockheed Martin’s failure to deliver spare parts to the Department of Defense (DOD) that were ready for installation on the F-35 aircraft.

During a recent Committee briefing and multiple bipartisan staff delegations to military bases with F-35s, the Committee learned troubling information about how unresolved issues with F-35 spare parts lead to excess costs for the military.

….The DOD Inspector General (IG) reported that DOD estimates that it has spent more than $300 million in additional labor costs since 2015 as a result of receiving defective spare parts from Lockheed Martin, and DOD will continue to pay up to $55 million a year if Lockheed Martin does not resolve issues related to defective spare parts for the F-35 going forward.

Investigations Confirm Ongoing Issues with F-35 Sustainment.

In June 2019, the DOD IG found that “DOD did not receive RFI [ready for issue] F‐35 spare parts in accordance with contract requirements” and that Lockheed Martin “has been providing non‐RFI spare parts to F‐35 sites since 2015.”

In March 2020, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that users at five military locations disclosed to GAO that “electronic records are frequently incorrect, corrupt, or missing” at their sites.

During one six-month period in 2019, they experienced up to 400 issues per week of inaccurate or missing electronic logs.

Spare Part Issues Compromise Warfighter Readiness and Increase Safety Risks:

Faulty EELs force maintenance personnel in the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps to make difficult decisions. They must choose between reducing readiness by grounding aircraft they believe are unsuitable to fly and ignoring warning alerts that certain parts are missing EELs.

GAO reported that F-35 users said that by continuously ignoring alerts in the Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) caused by missing or inaccurate data, squadrons could be at risk of ignoring an alert for legitimate aircraft issues.

During the Committee staff delegations, military leaders expressed concerns that deficiencies with EELs will grow and become even more challenging to address as the F-35 fleet grows………while his current policy is to require maintenance personnel to fix any electronic record data issues prior to a flight, “in a wartime scenario, his squadron will carry out missions with inaccurate or missing ALIS data and assume the subsequent risk that this may entail.” Committee staff heard similar concerns during their site visits…..

DOD pays Lockheed Martin incentive fees on sustainment contracts based on the overall performance of the F-35fleet……..for the length letter click HERE