{"id":65399,"date":"2023-10-03T14:10:31","date_gmt":"2023-10-03T14:10:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2023\/10\/03\/wittman-says-patience-wearing-thin-on-f-35-sustainment-plan\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:01:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:01:23","slug":"wittman-says-patience-wearing-thin-on-f-35-sustainment-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2023\/10\/03\/wittman-says-patience-wearing-thin-on-f-35-sustainment-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Wittman says patience wearing thin on F-35 sustainment plan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 A leading House lawmaker wants to see some hard details \u2014 and soon \u2014 from the F-35 Joint Program Office about how it plans to fix the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2023\/09\/22\/gao-blasts-contractor-led-f-35-maintenance-as-costly-slow\/\" target=\"_blank\">jet fighter\u2019s long-lagging availability rates<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And Rep. Rob Wittman\u2019s patience with the JPO on the fighter\u2019s low readiness is starting to wear thin, he said in an interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2023\/09\/06\/upgraded-f-35-deliveries-could-slip-to-june-2024\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/F-35-demo-upside-down.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Upgraded F-35 deliveries could slip to June 2024<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The F-35 Joint Program Office says the upgraded jet is showing software troubles in flight tests, prompting it to push the schedule back.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking to Defense News in his Capitol Hill office on Sept. 29, Wittman, the Virginia Republican who chairs the House Armed Services subcommittee on tactical air and land forces, said he thinks the JPO\u2019s \u201cwar on readiness\u201d plan is \u201cthe right idea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lt. Gen. Michael Schmidt, the F-35 program executive officer, told Wittman\u2019s subcommittee in a March hearing that the plan would \u201cmature sustainment processes and maximize F-35 availability for decades to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Schmidt didn\u2019t offer more details at that hearing on what the plan would entail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since then, Wittman said, his committee hasn\u2019t heard much more to flesh out the idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn a general sense, [Schmidt] has the right idea in mind\u201d on the war on readiness, Wittman said. \u201cHe hasn\u2019t shared with us any of the details, or the granularity of what you would want to know about how he\u2019s going to ensure that gets accomplished.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"6720\" height=\"4480\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FP20-16433-0203r_PR.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-112230\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FP20-16433-0203r_PR.jpg.jpg 6720w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FP20-16433-0203r_PR.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FP20-16433-0203r_PR.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FP20-16433-0203r_PR.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FP20-16433-0203r_PR.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FP20-16433-0203r_PR.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 6720px) 100vw, 6720px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">F-35s in various stages of production by Lockheed Martin at Air Force Plant 4 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Lockheed Martin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Defense News has repeatedly asked the JPO for an interview on its plans for the war on readiness, so far without success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the JPO has used the last six months to work with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2023\/05\/02\/lockheed-eyes-new-f-35-parts-deal-but-can-it-handle-wartime-demands\/\" target=\"_blank\">F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin<\/a> and nail down its plans for how to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2022\/09\/01\/lockheed-pentagon-claim-theyre-reining-in-f-35-sustainment-costs\/\" target=\"_blank\">fix the fighter\u2019s disappointing availability rates<\/a>, Wittman said, that would be understandable and time well spent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut I would say that the expectation about what would be a reasonable period of time to do that is probably coming quickly to a close,\u201d Wittman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think we\u2019ve tried to be patient, given them some room,\u201d Wittman continued. When asked if his patience is running out, he said, \u201cit\u2019s at the very end of what would be reasonable, in the patience shown, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a statement provided to Defense News Tuesday, Schmidt said the war on readiness is solving problems with the top issues that degrade F-35 performance, and consolidating the fighter\u2019s inspection requirements to reduce future maintenance needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The JPO is conducting \u201creadiness health assessments\u201d to figure out unique challenges partners, services and sites are having, and tell leadership about those problems so they can come up with plans to fix them, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The JPO also stood up an F-35 Readiness Control Board to tackle persistent and emerging problems that drag down the fighter\u2019s availability. Such boards are a common best practice in the Navy and commercial aviation, Schmidt said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe entire enterprise, including the services, our international partners, [foreign military sales] customers, and our industry partners are utilizing a data-driven approach to drive improvements across the sustainment enterprise to improve readiness,\u201d he said. \u201cThese recent actions continue moving us towards establishing the enduring mission capability our fleet requires.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Government Accountability Office report from September, which outlined numerous problems hindering the F-35\u2032s availability and difficulties with the jet\u2019s maintenance, said that the mission-capable rate for all F-35s was 55% earlier this year. That is well below the Air Force\u2019s goal of having 70% of its F-35As available to carry out their missions, and the Navy and Marine Corps\u2019 goal of 75% for its F-35B and C variants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Tuesday\u2019s statement, Schmidt said the F-35 fleet is now at 58% mission capable, and has a goal to reach 64% by March 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wittman plans to have a hearing by the end of the year to hear more from the JPO on how it expects to solve problems with the jet\u2019s sustainment and availability rates, and other issues with the F-35.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wittman said he expects Schmidt to come to that hearing ready to explain how his readiness plan would work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI would want some specificity,\u201d he said. \u201cAt this particular point, they\u2019ve had enough time to examine the problem, to understand it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wittman called the GAO\u2019s recent findings \u201cdeeply concerning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of what we expect out of the aircraft, and there\u2019s some shortcomings there about what has been promised and then what is being delivered,\u201d Wittman said. \u201cWhere has the due diligence been performed on this program with the Air Force and the JPO, on making sure that it meets these performance parameters? There\u2019s several places where it has fallen short.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He plans to have a GAO representative appear at the hearing, and is talking with the subcommittee\u2019s ranking Democrat, Rep. Donald Norcross of New Jersey, about adding GAO to the witness list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2018Mind boggling\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wittman wants GAO to share its perspective on the F-35\u2032s readiness issues with the subcommittee, \u201cand then to ask the JPO and the Air Force why they\u2019re in this position, or if there\u2019s a disagreement on the assertions and the findings of GAO, then what\u2019s their viewpoint?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The breadth of problems highlighted in GAO\u2019s report \u2014 such as a lack of spare parts and depot capacity for the military to repair broken parts, and the military\u2019s difficulty in obtaining necessary technical data that makes it hard for its maintainers to fix the fighter \u2014 are worrying, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 55% mission-capable rate for the F-35 fleet is unacceptable, Wittman said, and the fact that these problems are happening in the face of the fighter\u2019s $1.7 trillion life cycle cost, $1.3 trillion of which comes from its operation and sustainment, is \u201cmind boggling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s a new aircraft \u2014 why is it at 55%?\u201d Wittman said. \u201cYou would think on a new production line, \u2026 you would learn pretty quickly what your maintenance and repair models would be. All of those things seem to be lacking in this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt seems to be, just get the aircraft off the assembly line and let the Air Force essentially operate on its own afterwards,\u201d he continued. \u201cThat\u2019s a disconnect about how you need to make sure that you\u2019re managing the lifecycle cost of that aircraft.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In his statement, Schmidt said the war on readiness focuses on four key areas: solving the top issues that degrade the fighter\u2019s availability, getting aircraft that have been down for long periods back to mission-capable status, getting maintenance at unit levels operating more efficiently, and streamlining the supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A crucial step towards making the F-35 affordable and available in the long term will be standing up repair operations at depots, Schmidt said. Depot repair facilities in the U.S., Europe, and Pacific regions have already been stood up to repair the F-35\u2032s air vehicle, propulsion and components, he said, and more are under way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One option the Pentagon is considering to improve F-35 sustainment is entering into a limited performance-based logistics contract with Lockheed Martin. But it remains an open question as to whether such a deal would lower costs or improve aircraft availability, as Lockheed believes it would.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Office of the Secretary of Defense is analyzing the proposed PBL deal \u2014 using data from the Office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation \u2014 aiming to verify to lawmakers whether it would deliver the promised cost and readiness benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wittman said lawmakers are dissatisfied with how much information CAPE typically shares with them, and are having conversations to ensure CAPE provides details on their findings on the suitability of a PBL contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCAPE needs to do a better job of being transparent with Congress about how they give us that information,\u201d Wittman said. \u201cWe had a very heart-to-heart talk with the CAPE director about making sure that they do that. Our concern is, they hold a lot of that information to themselves and then they end up making decisions that either aren\u2019t informed by what Congress wants, or sometimes even potentially in contradiction to what Congress has said is the direction that needs to be pursued.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wittman said he has not gotten any preliminary findings from CAPE about what they have found, and he was not sure when their study will be finished and provided to lawmakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When asked whether he is open to a PBL contract for the F-35, Wittman said he needs to see more information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m still in the discovery mode of how things need to happen\u201d with a potential PBL, Wittman said. \u201cThe things that came out of the GAO report introduce more questions than they answer. I think a lot of those questions need to be answered before we get into the scope of determining the course for PBL.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">TR-3 upgrade delays<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The F-35 hearing Wittman is planning will also cover the repeatedly-delayed rollout of new F-35 upgrades known as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2023\/09\/06\/upgraded-f-35-deliveries-could-slip-to-june-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\">Technology Refresh 3<\/a>, which has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2023\/06\/12\/pentagon-to-halt-upgraded-f-35-deliveries-in-july-amid-software-woes\/\" target=\"_blank\">halted the delivery of the latest fighters<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The TR-3 improvements will include better displays, computer memory and processing power, and will allow a even wider range of upgrades known as Block 4 in the future. TR-3 was originally meant to roll out in April 2023. But in recent months that deadline has slipped at least twice, and now may come sometime between April and June 2024. The government attributes the TR-3 hangup to software integration issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the meantime, the government cannot conduct the needed acceptance flights on TR-3 fighters before taking possession of them, so dozens of constructed F-35s are sitting at Lockheed Martin\u2019s Fort Worth, Texas facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When asked how confident he is that the F-35 program can stick to the current goal for finishing TR-3 and resuming delivery of the latest series of jets by next June, Wittman said he is hopeful \u2014 but that \u201cif you base it upon their historical performance, you might be a little suspect.\u201d He plans to ask the JPO at the hearing later this year how much progress they have made on resolving the TR-3 problem and how likely it is they can meet the deadline of next June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several issues have hampered the program\u2019s ability to make TR-3 work, Wittman said. The program needs more testbeds, he said, which prompted lawmakers to add more funding to this year\u2019s National Defense Authorization Act to allow the program to do more testing on its TR-3 software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the TR-3 problem and lingering difficulty in getting its software to work shows that the Pentagon needs to rethink how it creates these systems and prioritize software creation first, Wittman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have to look at software and data and the ability to do certain things in that realm first, and then design our hardware around that,\u201d Wittman said. \u201cVersus, build a great piece of hardware and then say, \u2018We\u2019ll figure out how the software makes it work later.\u2019 We\u2019re doing it backwards now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wittman said he plans to hold Lockheed Martin and the military accountable to ensure the F-35 is able to field the TR-3 capabilities it is meant to have. The fighter\u2019s full capabilities must be realized so it can counter a potential threat from China in coming years, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs they go through the testing, what happens is, the software gets to a certain point and then shuts down,\u201d Wittman said. \u201cI think that\u2019s because of inadequacies in how the information is gathered in that process. \u2026 They have some holes they have to fill in order to get to the place where the software is operational.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve tried to be patient&#8221; on the JPO&#8217;s F-35 sustainment plan, Rep. Rob Wittman said, but he&#8217;s now planning a hearing \u2014 and wants to hear details.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":117789,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":7,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"8":{"categories":["congress","home","acquisition","contracting","govcon","federal-oversight"],"primary_category":"congress"}}},"categories":[7,160,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3412],"class_list":["post-65399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-daily-news-roundup","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"M2LLKKYG7NDJXH3DYISE44SX7A","arc_canonical_url":"\/air\/2023\/10\/03\/wittman-says-patience-wearing-thin-on-f-35-sustainment-plan\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Wittman says patience wearing thin on F-35 sustainment plan - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"&quot;We&#039;ve tried to be patient&quot; on the JPO&#039;s F-35 sustainment plan, Rep. Rob Wittman said, but he&#039;s now planning a hearing \u2014 and wants to hear details.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wittman says patience wearing thin on F-35 sustainment plan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&quot;We&#039;ve tried to be patient&quot; on the JPO&#039;s F-35 sustainment plan, Rep. 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