A batch of orders for the Fort Worth-assembled F-35 Lightning II fighter jet will take five years longer to fulfill as costs escalate $6 billion over original estimates, according to a new U.S. Government Accountability Office report.
Technology Refresh 3 upgrades to the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. jets’ hardware and software components are delaying the Block 4 orders, which will now be complete in 2031.
The F-35 program — which the government watchdog office says has unique capabilities crucial to national security — will be placed under a new congressionally mandated defense department subprogram “to help meet cost, schedule and performance goals,” officials said in the report.
F-35 deliveries, which are contracted in batches, were late by an average of 238 days last year, up from an average of 61 in 2023, according to the GAO report. A 2024 GAO report estimated that the batch would initially be completed in 2029.
The report noted that defense contractor Pratt & Whitney, an East Hartford, Connecticut-based subsidiary of RTX Corp., also was late in delivering F-35 engines.
Lockheed Martin officials said the company’s delivery performance improved this year.
“The F-35 is combat proven, offers the most advanced capability and technology, and is the most affordable option to ensure America and its allies remain ahead of emerging threats,” a Lockheed Martin spokesperson said in a statement. “In partnership with the F-35 Joint Program Office, we will deliver 170-190 F-35s this year and continue fielding Block 4 capabilities to ensure the F-35 maintains its unmatched dominance in the skies.”
At an Aug. 14 event at an F-35 subcontractor factory in Mansfield, Edward “Stevie” Smith, director of F-35 strategic initiatives for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, said the company delivered at least 110 jets this year — better performance than any other fighter jet’s production.
“That is more production capacity than the rest of the world’s fighter capacity combined, bar none, built right here in Fort Worth, Texas,” he said.
The defense department’s evaluation of Lockheed Martin’s capacity to deliver aircraft on time “would help determine how many aircraft the program should plan to purchase,” according to the government accountability report.
The department — which President Donald Trump renamed the Department of War with an executive order Sept. 5 — plans to work with the company to deliver technology capabilities to the warfighter “at a more predictable pace than in the past,” according to the report.
The department paid companies, including Lockheed Martin, millions in incentive fees for on-time deliveries even if they were 60 days late, according to the report.
“To avoid rewarding late deliveries, the program should reevaluate its use of fees in future contracts and better align them to achieve desired production outcomes,” the report read.
Accountability officials noted that Lockheed Martin should expand its use of modern design tools, including digital models that developers can test in a simulated environment, to increase delivery performance.
The Pentagon estimated it will cost more than $2 trillion to maintain and operate the planned 2,470 F-35 jets over a 77-year period.
The Government Accountability Office made six recommendations to the defense department to improve F-35 deliveries. Among them, the department should reevaluate the use of contractor incentive fees and expand and formalize the use of “leading practices” for aircraft production.
The Department of Defense, which cited actions to address delivery problems, concurred with four recommendations and partially concurred with two others.
The F-35 program saw upgrades in foreign orders as Lockheed Martin delivered more than 1,200 aircraft worldwide to a growing list of allies, partners and U.S. military branches.
“It is now only strengthening our U.S. alliances, both over in Europe and in the Pacific theater as well, but also bringing up new customer sets and aligning very well with this current administration’s policy of having our allies and partners being able to fight their own fights in their backyard alongside our U.S. servicemen,” Smith said at the Mansfield event.
In August, the Pentagon awarded Lockheed Martin Aeronautics an $8.2 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification for Australia’s F-35 program. About 65% of the work will be completed in Fort Worth with the remainder expected to be performed in Australia, according to the defense contract listing.
Eric E. Garcia is a senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
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