The Marine general who runs the F-35 program walked into a Senate hearing this week and said the quiet part out loud: the most expensive weapons program in history has outgrown the system built to keep it flying.
It landed weeks after a Government Accountability Office report put F-35 readiness at the lowest level on record — only about one in four jets able to fly every mission assigned to it. The program chief’s own framing was even blunter. He has been handed more than 1,300 jets, he told senators, and a sustainment machine sized for roughly half that.
That is not a critic talking. That is the man in charge.
Quick Facts
| What | GAO put F-35 readiness at the lowest level on record (June 2026) |
| Fully mission capable | About one in four jets (can fly all assigned missions) |
| Mission capable (any mission) | Fell from 67% (FY2021) to 44%; the program office cites 56% |
| Fleet vs. support | More than 1,300 jets; a sustainment system “set for about 7 to 800” |
| Program chief | Lt. Gen. Gregory Masiello, head of the F-35 Joint Program Office |
| Pentagon ask | A reported ~$13.7 billion sustainment boost |
One in four
The GAO’s number is the one that stings: roughly 25% of F-35s are fully mission capable, meaning ready for every job they could be tasked with. The broader rate — jets able to fly at least one type of mission — has slid from 67% in fiscal 2021 to 44%. Masiello put that figure higher, at 56%, blaming a difference in how the numbers are counted. Pick either: somewhere between 44 and 56 percent of the West’s premier stealth fighter is available on an average day.
A pipeline built for a smaller air force
The core problem isn’t the jet’s flying qualities — it’s everything behind the jet. Spare parts, repair depots, and trained maintainers were all scaled for a force a fraction of today’s size, and the fleet kept growing anyway. Masiello laid it out for the Airland Subcommittee in a single sentence.
In other words, the factory ran ahead of the toolbox. Every new jet rolling off the line lands into the same overstretched network of parts and people.
$13.7 billion and a long road
The fix is money and time. The Pentagon is reportedly seeking a roughly $13.7 billion boost to sustainment, and the GAO wants the program to deliver an updated strategy that actually closes the gap rather than papering over it. None of that turns around quickly — depots, supply chains, and skilled maintainers take years to build, not quarters.
The uncomfortable lesson sits underneath the whole hearing: you can build stealth fighters faster than you can build the boring stuff that keeps them flying. The F-35 just got a record-setting reminder of which one actually wins the war.
Sources: Military Times; U.S. Government Accountability Office; Air & Space Forces Magazine; Breaking Defense.
Related Questions
How many F-35s are mission capable?
A June 2026 GAO report found that only about one in four F-35s were fully mission capable, meaning able to fly all assigned missions. The broader mission-capable rate — jets able to fly at least one mission — fell from 67% in 2021 to 44%, though the program office cites a higher figure of 56%.
What did the F-35 program chief say about readiness?
Lt. Gen. Gregory Masiello told a Senate subcommittee that the F-35 fleet has outgrown its support system. He said the program operates more than 1,300 aircraft but has a sustainment system enabled for roughly 700 to 800.
Who is in charge of the F-35 program?
Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Gregory Masiello leads the F-35 Joint Program Office, the organization responsible for developing, fielding, and sustaining the F-35 for the U.S. military and international partners. He took over the role in 2025.
Why is F-35 readiness so low?
The main driver is sustainment, not the aircraft itself. Spare parts, repair depots, and trained maintainers were scaled for a much smaller fleet, and the number of jets kept growing past what that support network was built to handle, dragging down mission-capable rates.
How many F-35s have been built?
More than 1,300 F-35s are now operational across the U.S. military and partner nations, and production continues. That growing fleet is a key reason the existing sustainment system has fallen behind.
What is being done to fix F-35 readiness?
The Pentagon is reportedly seeking about $13.7 billion in additional sustainment funding, and the GAO has called for an updated sustainment strategy. Building up depots, spare-parts supply, and trained maintainers is expected to take years.
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