WASHINGTON — The prices of main upgrades to the F-35 fighter are persevering with to rise, and repeated delays on important simulation exams and on a full-rate manufacturing choice are growing the chance the Protection Division buys defective jets that should be mounted, a brand new Authorities Accountability Workplace report mentioned.
In Monday’s report, GAO discovered that the price of the F-35′s Block 4 modernization effort grew to $15.1 billion in 2021, $741 million greater than the estimated value in 2020.
A lot of that enhance was attributable to a $330 million enhance within the estimated value of the Expertise Refresh 3 effort, an improve to the F-35′s {hardware} and software program that seeks to enhance its processing functionality, show models and elevated reminiscence, GAO mentioned. The event of Tech Refresh 3 has confirmed to be extra sophisticated than anticipated, program officers advised GAO, and has pushed up the value tag.
One other $312 million in value will increase got here from modernizing growing old take a look at plane supporting weapons growth, in addition to different testing and lab upgrades, the report discovered. Operational take a look at and analysis officers advised GAO extra flight take a look at capability is required to make sure a number of Block 4 capabilities, together with weapons integration, work correctly.
A number of issues with software program, funding points that halted software program growth for eight months in 2021, and the addition of latest capabilities has additionally delayed the supply of ultimate Block 4 capabilities to 2029, three years later than initially anticipated.
Lockheed Martin, which builds the F-35, and program officers took a number of steps to enhance its software program growth, together with elevated lab testing of software program, improved and extra constant monitoring of software program growth, and lengthening the schedule for creating Block 4 software program “drops” from six to 12 months, starting in 2022.
This longer software program growth timetable would make it simpler to repair bugs, handle upcoming work schedules and ease the testing backlog that developed below the six-month schedule, program officers advised GAO.
However GAO mentioned it stays to be seen whether or not these adjustments will enhance how Block 4 is rolled out.
The report famous the year-long software program growth interval is a step away from the “agile” software program growth strategy of upgrades being delivered in chunks, quite than massive portions of adjustments dropping , after a prolonged growth interval.
And take a look at officers with the federal government advised GAO that shifting to a 12-month software program drop schedule gained’t repair the issue of late deliveries if this system workplace retains including shock adjustments. An extended time between software program upgrades additionally means patches for bugs discovered within the discipline may take longer to ship, GAO mentioned.
Main take a look at delay
GAO additionally raised issues concerning the continued delay of the Joint Simulation Surroundings take a look at, with out which the Pentagon can’t wrap up the F-35′s preliminary operational take a look at and analysis course of and decide on full-rate manufacturing.
The army is buying as much as 152 F-35s annually for the Air Drive, Navy and Marine Corps — which GAO famous is sort of the complete manufacturing price — and is on observe to have 1,115 fighters delivered in 2023. If the full-rate manufacturing choice happens that 12 months, GAO mentioned, that may imply about one-third of the overall variety of F-35s anticipated to be purchased could have been delivered earlier than it finishes operational testing.
This places this system vulnerable to extra value overruns, GAO mentioned, if extra efficiency points are recognized after massive numbers of fighters are within the discipline.
The COVID-19 pandemic has additionally worsened ongoing provide chain points and brought about labor disruptions, which led to delays within the supply of F-35s, the report mentioned. This system workplace and contractors determined in September 2021 to regulate supply schedules of plane by 2023 to soak up the blow from COVID-19. This meant 35 fighters of 120 delivered in 2020 had been now not thought of to be late.
However the report additionally dinged engine contractor Pratt & Whitney for delivering “practically all” F-35 engines late in 2021. Solely six of the 152 engines delivered by Pratt & Whitney had been on time, the report mentioned, its lowest quantity in a minimum of 5 years.
This was attributable to high quality points — reminiscent of some uncooked supplies being manufactured incorrectly — and never attributable to COVID-related issues, a minimum of since February 2021.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter at Protection News. He beforehand reported for Navy.com, overlaying the Pentagon, particular operations and air warfare. Earlier than that, he coated U.S. Air Drive management, personnel and operations for Air Drive Occasions.
