F-35 Full Mission Capable Rate Falls to 25% as Sustainment Costs Exceed Budgets by $13.7 Billion

The F-35 Joint Program Office's Global Support Solution Reset targets 65% full mission capable by 2030 but allocates just $2.2 billion of the added funds to core fixes. The remaining $11.5 billion closes the gap between service budgets and actual requirements driven by parts shortages, software delays, and corrosion. Lockheed Martin identified 48 critical parts with supplier constraints, including canopies that ground aircraft at scale. Incentive fees paid to Lockheed exceeded $114 million from 2020-2023 despite stagnant or declining metrics, with 19 of 39 periods adjusted upward for factors outside contractor control.

Operation Epic Fury flight hours, absent from fiscal 2027 projections, will widen the $1.2 billion annual sustainment shortfall projected for the mid-2030s. Pratt & Whitney met engine targets after earlier GAO-noted fixes, yet overall contractor reliance and capacity limits persist. Pentagon Inspector General findings from December 2025 align with GAO's assessment that performance payments failed to drive measurable readiness gains.

Procurement records reveal the disconnect: services must absorb rising costs without corresponding combat availability, exposing the gap between acquisition scale and operational output. JPO documentation indicates readiness will likely decline further before late-2026 improvements, if any materialize.

Next steps hinge on whether fiscal 2027 budgets incorporate the full gap or trigger capability trade-offs across Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps fleets.