Search

Sustainment/Availability Has Been Achilles Heel for F-35 Fighter

Sustainment/Availability Has Been Achilles Heel for F-35 Fighter
A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II from the 33rd Fighter Wing takes off from Eglin AFB, Fla. on May 10. F-15Cs from the 173rd Fighter Wing flew to Eglin AFB from May 1-15 to support F-35A Lightning II B-Course students by serving as adversary air opponents. (U.S. Air National Guard Photo)

Providing affordable sustainment was a key goal for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program before Lockheed Martin [LMT] beat out Boeing [BA] to win the JSF contract on Oct. 26, 2001. On April 11, 2000, the Pentagon’s Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) validated a Joint Operational Requirements Document (JORD) with six key performance parameters (KPPs) for the fighter. Among the KPPs was high mission reliability. The mission reliability KPP for the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy versions of JSF…

Subscriber-only content. Please log in below.

Not a subscriber or registered user yet?

Please contact us at clientservices@accessintel.com or call us at 888-707-5814 (Monday – Thursday 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. and Friday 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET.), to start a free trial, get pricing information, order a reprint, or post an article link on your website.



Congress Updates

Budd And Shaheen Bill Would Authorize 329 F-15EX Fighters

Two members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), have introduced the Airpower Acceleration Act, which would authorize multi-year procurements of […]


HASC’s Wittman Sees ‘Challenging’ Push For $350B In Reconciliation Funds, Wants Sustained Defense Increase

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.– Congress’ work to pass $350 billion in reconciliation funds to support the Trump administration’s push for a $1.5 trillion fiscal year 2027 defense topline is “going to […]


Army Secretary Says “We Need To Over-Invest in FLRAA To Get It Online As Quickly As Possible”

Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee’s defense panel (HAC-D), said on Thursday that the Army’s budget plan beginning in fiscal 2027 has more than $2 billion […]


Pentagon Fiscal 2027 Budget To Address Cannibalization Of Parts For F-35, Legislator Says

The Pentagon’s upcoming fiscal 2027 budget request will help reduce the cannibalization of parts for the F-35 fighter by Lockheed Martin [LMT], the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s […]