Weeks after shipment was swiped by China, Pentagon ‘struggles to account for’ $31 billion in missing F-35 aircraft parts

by

Weeks after shipment was swiped by China, Pentagon ‘struggles to account for’ $31 billion in missing F-35 aircraft parts

The Government Accountability Office says record-keeping, inventory monitoring, and staff training need to be improved.

a]:text-inherit [&>a]:underline">
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works .

Inventory problems have been a long-standing feature of the deployment of the F-35, notes the source. The F-35 program is estimated to cost $1.9 trillion over its lifecycle. It is the most costly weapon system in history, says the GAO. But the Department of Defense (DOD) has “long-standing and ongoing deficiencies related to the accountability and financial reporting of F-35 parts,” asserts the watchdog.

Chief among the issues that need to be addressed is the headlining massive unmonitored pool of roughly 26 million spare parts. These are spread among 700 government and contractor facilities worldwide, but the technology for managing massive inventories has existed for decades.

We might have seen a telling symptom of the inadequate F-35 parts tracking system back in September. A communications and/or accountability breakdown resulted in a UPS worker routing top-secret parts through Hong Kong to save time. They were allegedly swiped by China after an employee is thought to have missed an email warning not to divert the parts.

Frustratingly, this is the third report since 2019 from the GAO, and the latest published report complains that the DOD has “made minimal progress” in implementing past recommendations. For example, in a 2022 report, periodic physical inventories of F-35 parts were recommended but have not been implemented yet, notes Stars and Stripes . There is also no reliable procedure for verifying data from prime contractors, which can be “inaccurate and incomplete.”

China swiped classified F-35 stealth fighter parts that were diverted through Hong Kong

China allegedly intercepted UPS-shipped F-35 parts after employee missed email warning

Pentagon gets pwned as breach exposes sensitive data on nearly three million military and civilian personnel

Currently, it is believed that there are over 1 million parts, worth more than $85 million, that are lost or missing. Moreover, about 17,000 parts that have been sent in for repair, worth as much as $42.5 billion, aren’t tracked.

Stars and Stripes mentions that the Pentagon is working on “a live connection” for the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO), bridging its inventory software and that of prime contractors with F-35 parts. The JPO asserts that it is now modernizing its infrastructure with direct real-time interfaces. “This integration directly addresses previous system gaps to ensure seamless accountability of F-35 spare parts,” said a JPO spokesperson, quoted by Breaking Defense .

Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.

Key considerations

  • Investor positioning can change fast
  • Volatility remains possible near catalysts
  • Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows

Reference reading

More on this site

Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.

Related posts:

  1. Weeks after shipment was swiped by China, Pentagon ‘struggles to account for’ $31 billion in missing F-35 aircraft parts
  2. China swiped classified F-35 stealth fighter parts that were diverted through Hong Kong
  3. China swiped classified F-35 stealth fighter parts that were diverted through Hong Kong
  4. China swiped classified F-35 stealth fighter parts that were diverted through Hong Kong

Leave a Comment