Case Study 5: From Joint Strike Fighter, GAO-11-325, April 7, 2011

The F-35 Lightning II, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), is the Department of Defense’s (DOD) most costly and ambitious aircraft acquisition, seeking to simultaneously develop and field three aircraft variants for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and eight international partners. The JSF is critical for recapitalizing tactical air forces and will require a long-term commitment to very large annual funding outlays. The estimated investment at the time was $382 billion to develop and procure 2,457 aircraft.

DOD continues to substantially restructure the JSF program, taking positive actions that should lead to more achievable and predictable outcomes. Restructuring has consequences—higher up-front development costs, fewer aircraft in the near term, training delays, and extended times for testing and delivering capabilities to warfighters.

Total development funding was $56.4 billion to complete in 2018, a 26 percent increase in cost and a 5-year slip in schedule compared to the baseline in 2011. DOD also reduced procurement quantities by 246 aircraft through 2016, but had not calculated the net effects of restructuring on total procurement costs nor approved a new baseline. Affordability for the U.S. and partners is challenged by a near doubling in average unit prices since program start and higher estimated life cycle costs. Going forward, the JSF requires unprecedented funding levels in a period of more austere defense budgets.

GAO reported its findings on April 7, 2011 in Joint Strike Fighter: Restructuring Places Program on Firmer Footing, but Progress Still Lags, GAO-11-325.