U.S. Government Accountability Office
This documentary edition presents the complete 62-page GAO report GAO-26-108113, F-35 Sustainment: Actions Needed to Ensure Updated Strategy Improves Persistent Readiness Challenges, dated June 11, 2026. Publisher-created introductory material is separately identified, and the original report retains its tables, notes, appendixes, and printed pagination.GAO examines the Joint Program Office’s Global Support Solution (GSS) Reset, financial management, and contractor incentives. The report records declining mission-capable and full-mission-capable rates between fiscal years 2021 and 2025. JPO estimated $13.7 billion in additional sustainment spending through fiscal year 2031: about $2.2 billion for the GSS Reset in fiscal years 2026-2027, and about $11.5 billion outside the Reset in fiscal years 2027-2031. That incremental estimate is distinct from the report’s cited 2024 estimate of $1.6 trillion in lifetime U.S. sustainment costs through 2088.The review was conducted under section 357 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, as amended. GAO makes three recommendations concerning proactive risk mitigation, performance incentives, and accurate incentive-fee information. DOD had not provided official comments by the publication deadline; GAO reports draft concurrence with all three recommendations and technical comments incorporated as appropriate.A Publisher’s Note, Document Guide, and Caveats and Counterpoints help readers distinguish the original findings from later editorial context, interpret the report’s cost measures, and locate its supporting material. This public-domain government report is reproduced as a facsimile. The publisher does not claim GAO or DOD endorsement. Portions of the editorial apparatus were prepared with AI assistance; the primary report is preserved.The report follows three linked questions: whether the Joint Program Office evaluated its sustainment strategy and supporting initiatives; how long-standing financial management issues affect sustainment; and whether prime-contractor arrangements achieve readiness goals. GAO reviewed DOD documents and prior oversight work, analyzed performance and incentive information, and interviewed military-service, DOD, and prime-contractor officials. Its methodology and data qualifications remain available in the original pages, allowing readers to check a summary against the underlying evidence.The recommendations address distinct management problems. The first calls for proactive plans to mitigate risks involving technical-data access, industry capacity, affordability, and alignment with service goals. The second concerns the design of future sustainment incentives to obtain desired performance. The third concerns quality controls for the collection, generation, and storage of accurate incentive-fee metrics and payment information, including documentation of contract changes. The editorial guide keeps these three actions separate rather than presenting the report as a general verdict on the aircraft.The facsimile includes the report’s discussion of the updated strategy, financial management, and incentive payments, followed by its conclusions, recommendations, and agency-comments section. Four appendixes cover objectives and methodology, sustainment cost estimates, working capital funds, and staff acknowledgments. Related GAO products are listed at the end. These features make the edition useful for readers tracing the oversight record, locating a particular finding, or comparing estimates with different scopes and time horizons. Readiness percentages describe the measures defined in the report; they are not interchangeable with a claim about combat effectiveness.
