The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) is responsible for auditing the US government to avoid wasting money. However, the Pentagon just refused GAO inspectors and blocked public release of their latest F-35 report, probably because they look so bad. Here's what the numbers that have been released earlier already show:
F-35 readiness rates are disastrous:
- Mission capable F-35s (can fly any mission, even a beginner familiarization hop): 67% in 2021 → 44% in 2025
- FULL mission capable (can do all combat missions): 38% → 25%^1
- Even the old F-16C built in the 1980s sits at 64%, much higher than the F-35
F-35 fleet is split into castes:
~1,057 F-35s have been built, spread across the US and its allies. Of these, the US operates ~800 of them.
"TR" (Technical Refresh) is the jet's built-in electronics hardware, "Block" is the software it runs. Old hardware can't run new software, so TR-3/Block 4 is the only fully modern configuration:
- 238 global jets / ~180 US jets (~23%) built before TR-2/Block 3F will never be fully operational, and are not upgradeable. These can only be used for testing, training, or scrapped.
- 524 global jets / ~400 US jets (~50%) stuck at old TR-2/Block 3F standard, no plans to upgrade them.^1 Combat capable, but frozen at 2015-era capability.
- 295 global jets / ~220 US jets (~28%) are the only ones on the modern TR-3/Block 4 path. Except these are good for training only:^2 they're delivered without their delayed radar, and the engine core upgrade needed to fully power and cool the Block 4 electronics will only be installed in 2031
Zero F-35s are both combat-ready and on the modernization path. The mid-generation jets are the only ones actually doing any fighting, even though the aircraft was bought for the capabilities Block 4 promises.
The US only has ~800 × 25% full-mission-capable = ~200 combat-ready F-35s,^2 all frozen at 2015-era capability.
Meanwhile, China has produced ~500 J-20s at ~120/year, projected ~1,000 by 2030.^3 This means China probably already has more modern, combat-ready 5th-gen jets than the USA (at even a bad ~50% readiness rate (~500 J-20s × 50% = ~250 combat-ready J-20s versus ~200 combat-ready US F-35s).
Lockheed profits from every failure:
Lockheed's own 2025 study found their suppliers can't make 48 critical components for the F-35 on time. The Pentagon now wants to give Lockheed another $13.7B just to get to 65% full-mission-capable by 2030.^1 Of course, the Pentagon will also need to replace the ~580 unupgradeable or frozen US jets, all of which become future orders for Lockheed.