Not a Lot of F-35s Are Flying Right Now
The Lightning II is mighty lonely at the moment.
BY SASCHA BRODSKYPUBLISHED: FEB 15, 2023
hill air force base's fighter wings fly dozens of f 35a fighters in combat exercise in utah
George Frey//Getty Images
The F-35 isn’t keeping up with combat readiness goals.
One reason might be due to a lack of spare parts and maintenance equipment.
The F-35 has experienced various technical problems over the years.
The troubled F-35 Lightning II family of fighter jets is struggling to stay in the air.
A new report finds that the F-35 isn’t keeping up with combat readiness goals and fell behind previous records in 2022. The Pentagon’s costliest weapons program has a long way to go before it can compete with older and less expensive combat aircraft in terms of availability to fly actual missions.
Between 2021 and 2022, the F-35A’s availability dropped 11 percentage points from 65 percent to 54, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report. The F-35B’s availability also dipped by seven percentage points—from 61 percent to 54. Meanwhile, the F-35C’s availability jumped from 53 percent to 58 percent. The report also found that the F-35 had a lower mission-capable rate than older F-22s and F-15s.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a42912833/f-35-availability-problems/
