A shortage of spare engines could cause some F-35s to be grounded, according to congressional auditors, as it takes longer than planned to repair a critical part of the fighter jet. America’s most expensive match.
The lack of a backup engine could cause some of Lockheed’s F-35s to be out of service, according to congressional auditors, as it takes longer than planned to repair a critical component for the fighter jet. America’s most expensive.
The Government Accountability Office said: “Inadequate maintenance warehouse capacity resulting in underactivity” has “landed the F-35 more frequently and for longer than expected”. report Tuesday.
The GAO said much of the problem stems from the Pentagon’s failure to develop a proper strategy to maintain the engines, including providing enough inventory to repair as production resumes. The engine for the plane was manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corp. provided by the Pratt & Whitney unit of Raytheon Technologies Corp.
To date, 820 F-35s have been delivered worldwide out of a total of 3,000 potential deliveries to the US and partner countries. After years of negotiations, Pentagon announced Monday night that it has reached a preliminary agreement with Lockheed for a further three-year contract for 375 more advanced fighter jets.
Lockheed said on Tuesday that it expected to reach a final agreement on the F-35 contract in the third quarter. America’s No. 1 defense contractor has cut its earnings forecast and slashed its F-35 plan in the near term, citing the impact from Covid-19 and other factors affecting the program.
Shares of Lockheed fell as much as 3.5% early Tuesday before halting losses amid a stronger bull market. Shares fell 1.5% at 12:05 pm in New York.
The GAO report expands on public testimony it provided to a House panel in April. Its warning about the need to avert the current, and possible, shortage of ready engines contrasts with the positive publicity the F-35 is receiving as it flies patrols over the East. Europe after the Russian invasion Ukraine. Finland, Switzerland, Germany and Greece are the latest foreign customers for the aircraft, and south Korea has signaled it wants more jets.
Case study
The issue of engine repair – and its ramifications for readiness – is a case study of why the Pentagon is struggling to reduce its estimated $1.3 trillion cost to operate. and maintain the aircraft for an expected life of 66 years. GAO says engine maintenance costs have been forecast to reach $1 billion annually by 2028, up from $315 million last year, due to increased aircraft numbers, flight hours and scheduled maintenance. .
Since the beginning of 2020, “more and more F-35s are unable to fly due to a lack of operational engines,” the auditors said. “Almost all affected aircraft” are operated by the Air Force, the F-35’s largest customer, with 348 of the 1,763 expected aircraft in stock. 2,456 aircraft expected for WE also includes versions for the Marines and the Navy.
For example, in August 2021, the Air Force had 35 planes that could not fly because they had no operating engines, according to service officials. It was delivered about 283 at the time. In February, the latest data period cited, about 36 jets had no engines. The main obstacle is repairing the power module, one of the five engines, designated F135, are key to generating thrust. The GAO said it would take longer to repair and the Pentagon lacked enough spare engines.
Lieutenant General Mike Schmidt, F-35 program manager, said in a statement.
The F-35 program office said in a statement earlier this year the engine removal was not the result of faulty, flawed or substandard materials. One major cause: The coating on the engine’s high-pressure turbine blades “degraded faster than anticipated” as it flew through sandy environments.
As of fall 2020, the F-35 Joint Program Office and Pratt & Whitney “have taken actions and plan to take additional actions to increase inventory repair capacity to meet demand.” current and future engine maintenance” and “these efforts have begun to improve the GAO said inventory capacity” and lead to improved engine availability forecasts, GAO said.
Time to repair power modules reduced to 119 days in January, from 207 days in October 2020. Starting in early 2020, all new motors and those repaired in stock all have blades with the new coating “proven a significant performance increase”, the office program said.
However, “significant risks will still require the DoD and Pratt & Whitney’s ongoing regulatory attention,” the GAO said.
The two sides have had the least disagreement since 2019 on the extent money For example, spare parts funds are needed to repair engine modules.
“Pratt & Whitney claimed the gap was more than $400 million and it would negatively impact the program,” the GAO said, while the Pentagon’s F-35 program office “stated that the gap was.” This difference is about $170 million.”
Schmidt, program director, said his office also agreed with the GAO’s recommendation that it develop with Pratt & Whitney a common model for forecasting spare parts demand.
Raytheon said in a statement that the challenges “are well understood, with comprehensive action plans delivering positive results.” “As we’ve reflected over the past two years, it’s clear that the F135’s maintainability has hit a dead end,” said Jen Latka, vice president of engine programs at Pratt & Whitney.
