The Government Accountability Office has recommended that the Department of Defense direct the F-35 program office to reassess its comparative analysis after the service branches define their power and cooling requirements and oversee the engine and thermal management modernization effort as a separate program with its own performance baseline, cost and schedule.
GAO said Tuesday found that the program office has not fully defined the fighter jet’s cooling requirements.
“By obtaining this key information, DOD and the services would be more informed about the future performance, cost, and technical implications,” the GAO report reads.
The congressional watchdog called on the Pentagon to require the F-35 program office to report to Congress on cost differences between actual prices and original estimates for certain modernization capabilities and secure an independent cost estimate for all thermal management and engine modernization options.
According to the report, the program’s total procurement costs have climbed by $13.4 billion since the 2019 cost estimate.
GAO found that the Block 4 modernization effort continues to experience developmental delays and that the initiative’s costs rose to $16.5 billion in August 2021, up from $15.1 billion in June 2021.
