{"id":5728999,"date":"2026-07-16T10:27:35","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T08:27:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T10:27:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T08:27:43","slug":"pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/de\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon Buries Its Own F-35 Report Card"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style><p style=\"margin:0 0 18px;font-size:17px;line-height:1.75\">For two decades, the taxpayers who foot the bill for the most expensive weapon in human history got one honest annual accounting of it: the Government Accountability Office&rsquo;s yearly review of the F-35. This year, the Pentagon locked it in a drawer.<\/p><p style=\"margin:0 0 18px;font-size:17px;line-height:1.75\">The GAO confirmed on 15 July 2026 that the Defense Department had stamped its latest F-35 production-and-modernization report &ldquo;Controlled Unclassified Information&rdquo; &mdash; the bureaucratic label that means not a single page reaches the public. According to the watchdog, it is the first time in more than 20 years of annual F-35 reviews that the entire report has been withheld.<\/p><p style=\"margin:0 0 18px;font-size:17px;line-height:1.75\">The timing is not exactly subtle. The last several public GAO reviews were bruising, and now the one document that gave outsiders a clear look at the trillion-dollar jet has gone dark.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;padding:20px 22px;margin:24px 0;border-radius:8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;font-size:17px;color:#222\">Kurzinfo<\/p><table style=\"border-collapse:collapse;font-size:15px;line-height:1.5\"><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;font-weight:600;color:#333;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">Report<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#444\">&ldquo;F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: Update on Production and Modernization Efforts&rdquo;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;font-weight:600;color:#333;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">Status<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#444\">Fully withheld &mdash; designated Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;font-weight:600;color:#333;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">First time<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#444\">In 20+ years of annual GAO reviews (mandated by Congress since 2005)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;font-weight:600;color:#333;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">Program lifetime cost<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#444\">Projected to exceed $2 trillion<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;font-weight:600;color:#333;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">Fleet planned<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#444\">~2,470 aircraft over a 77-year life cycle<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;font-weight:600;color:#333;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">Full mission-capable rate (FY2025)<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#444\">~25%, down from 38% in FY2021 (per earlier public GAO reports)<\/td><\/tr><\/table><\/div>\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Two Decades of Sunlight, Switched Off<\/h2><p style=\"margin:0 0 18px;font-size:17px;line-height:1.75\">Congress ordered the GAO to review the F-35 every year starting in 2005, and every year since it delivered a public verdict on schedules, costs and readiness. That streak just ended. The auditors say the Pentagon determined this year&rsquo;s edition contains CUI &mdash; a category for sensitive-but-unclassified material &mdash; and restricted all of it.<\/p><p style=\"margin:0 0 18px;font-size:17px;line-height:1.75\">The GAO did not hide its discomfort with the decision, noting how unusual it is for one of its acquisition reviews to be locked away in full.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;This is the first year that any of our acquisition reviews has been determined to contain CUI information and be restricted from public release.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>US Government Accountability Office<\/strong> &mdash; Official statement, July 2026<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin:0 0 18px;font-size:17px;line-height:1.75\">Key lawmakers will still see the findings, but not every member of Congress gets the complete, unredacted version &mdash; and voters get nothing at all. For a program the public has been paying into for a quarter of a century, that is a meaningful door slamming shut.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px\"><img data-opt-id=1787181088  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:BB26.c603\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/pentagon-department-of-defense-f-35-report.jpg\" alt=\"The Pentagon, headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense\" style=\"max-width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The Pentagon designated the 2026 F-35 report &ldquo;Controlled Unclassified Information,&rdquo; blocking its public release. Photo: Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">What the Public Already Knew<\/h2><p style=\"margin:0 0 18px;font-size:17px;line-height:1.75\">The move stings precisely because recent public reports were unflattering. Earlier GAO reviews put the F-35&rsquo;s projected lifetime bill north of $2 trillion across roughly 2,470 aircraft and a 77-year life cycle, driven largely by the cost of keeping the jets flying rather than buying them.<\/p><p style=\"margin:0 0 18px;font-size:17px;line-height:1.75\">Readiness told a similar story. The share of F-35s able to perform every one of their assigned missions &mdash; the full mission-capable rate &mdash; had slid to about a quarter of the fleet in fiscal 2025, well below the targets the services set for themselves. Those were the kinds of numbers the annual report reliably surfaced.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #d32f2f;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;If the designation is used so broadly that it prevents independent review of major acquisition programs, policymakers should ask whether the system is being applied as intended.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Lindy Kyzer<\/strong> &mdash; Vice President for Content, ClearanceJobs<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Warum das wichtig ist<\/h2><p style=\"margin:0 0 18px;font-size:17px;line-height:1.75\">Transparency advocates worry less about this single report than about the precedent. If the Pentagon can wrap its most-scrutinized program in CUI, the same label can quietly smother oversight of the next one. Several analysts have urged Congress to demand a redacted public version, a line-by-line justification for the CUI stamp, and a firm release deadline.<\/p><p style=\"margin:0 0 18px;font-size:17px;line-height:1.75\">The F-35 will still fly, still cost a fortune, and still generate headlines. The difference, starting this year, is that the public&rsquo;s clearest window into it has been painted over &mdash; and nobody outside a small circle gets to decide when it opens again.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_zG1S87ptSA\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin:0 0 18px;font-size:17px;line-height:1.75\">Business Insider&rsquo;s <em>True Cost<\/em> breakdown lays out how the F-35 became the priciest weapons program ever conceived &mdash; the context that makes this year&rsquo;s blackout so contentious.<\/p><p style=\"font-style:italic;color:#777;font-size:14px;margin-top:24px\">Sources: U.S. Government Accountability Office; Bloomberg; Forbes; The Hill; South China Morning Post.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">\u00c4hnliche Beitr\u00e4ge<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/f-35-block-4-upgrade-delays-2026\/\">The F-35&rsquo;s Killer Upgrade Keeps Slipping<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/canada-f-35-joint-strike-missile-kongsberg-2026\/\">Ottawa r\u00fcstet seine F-35 mit einer norwegischen Rakete aus<\/a><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For two decades, the taxpayers who foot the bill for the most expensive weapon in human history got one honest annual accounting of it: the Government Accountability Office&rsquo;s yearly review of the F-35. This year, the Pentagon locked it in a drawer. The GAO confirmed on 15 July 2026 that the Defense Department had stamped [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":5729003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[664,670],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5728999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-aviation","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pentagon Blocks Public F-35 Report for First Time in 20 Years<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For the first time in over 20 years, the Pentagon has withheld the GAO&rsquo;s annual F-35 report, stamping it Controlled Unclassified Information.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pentagon Blocks Public F-35 Report for First Time in 20 Years\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For the first time in over 20 years, the Pentagon has withheld the GAO&rsquo;s annual F-35 report, stamping it Controlled Unclassified Information.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Afterburner - MiGFlug&#039;s Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-16T08:27:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-16T08:27:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:BB26.c603\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/FEATURED-f-35a-lightning-ii-cope-north-usaf.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"661\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Joseph Duncan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Joseph Duncan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Joseph Duncan\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b969321b26faa21775f0c40e141cdf85\"},\"headline\":\"Pentagon Buries Its Own F-35 Report Card\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-16T08:27:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-16T08:27:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":706,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/07\\/FEATURED-f-35a-lightning-ii-cope-north-usaf.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Military Aviation\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\\\/\",\"name\":\"Pentagon Blocks Public F-35 Report for First Time in 20 Years\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/07\\/FEATURED-f-35a-lightning-ii-cope-north-usaf.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-16T08:27:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-16T08:27:43+00:00\",\"description\":\"For the first time in over 20 years, the Pentagon has withheld the GAO&rsquo;s annual F-35 report, stamping it Controlled Unclassified Information.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/07\\/FEATURED-f-35a-lightning-ii-cope-north-usaf.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/07\\/FEATURED-f-35a-lightning-ii-cope-north-usaf.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":661,\"caption\":\"A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II takes off during exercise Cope North 22 at the Tinian International Airport, Feb. 9, 2022. Exercises such as Cope North allow the Pacific Air Forces to validate new ways to deploy and maneuver assets. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Joseph P. LeVeille)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pentagon Buries Its Own F-35 Report Card\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/\",\"name\":\"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine\",\"description\":\"for those interested in flying military jets and aviation related  topics\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\/w:897\\/h:278\\/q:mauto\\/ig:avif\\/https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\/w:897\\/h:278\\/q:mauto\\/ig:avif\\/https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"width\":897,\"height\":278,\"caption\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/MiGFlug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/migflug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/migflug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/MiGFlug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/migflug.com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.ch\\\/migflug\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b969321b26faa21775f0c40e141cdf85\",\"name\":\"Joseph Duncan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/cd6d4cc4c63e8c05a1f5db9308c285d6dd9753e6d076a39f8c5ed9a7d9f7c523?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/cd6d4cc4c63e8c05a1f5db9308c285d6dd9753e6d076a39f8c5ed9a7d9f7c523?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/cd6d4cc4c63e8c05a1f5db9308c285d6dd9753e6d076a39f8c5ed9a7d9f7c523?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Joseph Duncan\"},\"description\":\"Joseph Duncan covers breaking defence news \u2014 fast, sharp dispatches on the Pentagon, procurement and the world\u2019s air forces.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/de\\\/author\\\/josephduncan\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pentagon Blocks Public F-35 Report for First Time in 20 Years","description":"For the first time in over 20 years, the Pentagon has withheld the GAO&rsquo;s annual F-35 report, stamping it Controlled Unclassified Information.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\/","og_locale":"de_DE","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pentagon Blocks Public F-35 Report for First Time in 20 Years","og_description":"For the first time in over 20 years, the Pentagon has withheld the GAO&rsquo;s annual F-35 report, stamping it Controlled Unclassified Information.","og_url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\/","og_site_name":"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","article_published_time":"2026-07-16T08:27:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-16T08:27:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":661,"url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:BB26.c603\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/FEATURED-f-35a-lightning-ii-cope-north-usaf.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Joseph Duncan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@migflug","twitter_site":"@migflug","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Joseph Duncan","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\/"},"author":{"name":"Joseph Duncan","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/person\/b969321b26faa21775f0c40e141cdf85"},"headline":"Pentagon Buries Its Own F-35 Report Card","datePublished":"2026-07-16T08:27:35+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-16T08:27:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\/"},"wordCount":706,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:BB26.c603\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/FEATURED-f-35a-lightning-ii-cope-north-usaf.jpg","articleSection":["Military Aviation","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\/","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\/","name":"Pentagon Blocks Public F-35 Report for First Time in 20 Years","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:BB26.c603\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/FEATURED-f-35a-lightning-ii-cope-north-usaf.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-16T08:27:35+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-16T08:27:43+00:00","description":"For the first time in over 20 years, the Pentagon has withheld the GAO&rsquo;s annual F-35 report, stamping it Controlled Unclassified Information.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:BB26.c603\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/FEATURED-f-35a-lightning-ii-cope-north-usaf.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:BB26.c603\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/FEATURED-f-35a-lightning-ii-cope-north-usaf.jpg","width":1280,"height":661,"caption":"A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II takes off during exercise Cope North 22 at the Tinian International Airport, Feb. 9, 2022. Exercises such as Cope North allow the Pacific Air Forces to validate new ways to deploy and maneuver assets. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Joseph P. LeVeille)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/pentagon-blocks-gao-f-35-report-2026\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pentagon Buries Its Own F-35 Report Card"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#website","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/","name":"Afterburner \u2013 MiGFlugs Magazin","description":"F\u00fcr alle, die sich f\u00fcr das Fliegen von Milit\u00e4rjets und verwandte Luftfahrtthemen interessieren.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#organization","name":"MiGFlug GmbH","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","width":897,"height":278,"caption":"MiGFlug GmbH"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","https:\/\/x.com\/migflug","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/migflug\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MiGFlug","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/migflug.com\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.ch\/migflug\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/person\/b969321b26faa21775f0c40e141cdf85","name":"Joseph Duncan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd6d4cc4c63e8c05a1f5db9308c285d6dd9753e6d076a39f8c5ed9a7d9f7c523?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd6d4cc4c63e8c05a1f5db9308c285d6dd9753e6d076a39f8c5ed9a7d9f7c523?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd6d4cc4c63e8c05a1f5db9308c285d6dd9753e6d076a39f8c5ed9a7d9f7c523?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Joseph Duncan"},"description":"Joseph Duncan berichtet \u00fcber aktuelle Verteidigungsnachrichten \u2013 schnelle, pr\u00e4gnante Meldungen \u00fcber das Pentagon, Beschaffungswesen und die Luftstreitkr\u00e4fte der Welt.","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/de\/author\/josephduncan\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5728999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5728999"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5728999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5729009,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5728999\/revisions\/5729009"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5729003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5728999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5728999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5728999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}