Supply chain issues hampering US F-35 program

By Vakkas Dogantekin

ANKARA (AA) - The Pentagon recently awarded Lockheed Martin a $2.4 billion contract modification to address growing supply chain issues with its F-35 fighter jet program.

The F-35, “beset by technical flaws, cost overruns and supply chain disasters” was called the “Pentagon’s most expensive weapons programme ever” which is expected to cost American taxpayers ''more than $1 [trillion] over its 60-year lifespan,” according to an analysis piece published Tuesday in the U.S.-based Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply.

It said the supply chain “bottleneck” has rendered almost half of the F-35 fighter portfolio ''useless'' for combat from May to November 2018.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) drew attention to the similar issues in a report in April.

''F-35 aircraft performance is falling short of warfighter requirements—that is, aircraft cannot perform as many missions or fly as often as required,'' the GAO found.

The F-35, spearheaded by Lockheed Martin, is a family of single-seat, single-engine, fifth-generation multirole fighters set to perform ground attack, reconnaissance and air defense missions with stealth capability.

The Pentagon has long been interested in lowering the costs of operating and maintaining the F-35.

American military officials in June raised concerns during a House Armed Services hearing about the goal to get F-35 cost per flight hours down to $25,000 by fiscal year 2025, among other concerns. It currently stands at $44,000.

According to the military website, Defense News, Vice Adm. Mat Winter, the Pentagon's F-35 program executive, expressed frustration with delays in the project during the hearing.

“I’m hitting a stagnant plateau with Lockheed Martin because they are 600 parts behind on average: 600 parts not on the production line when I need them,” Winter said.

“That supplier that generates a widget is generating a new widget for the production line, for our spare package, and we still have to repair the ones that are breaking in the field,” he said.

“The reliability of parts is still not meeting expectations, and it’s taking too long to move them through depot,” he said.