WORLDTECHGAO finds 26 million F-35 parts worth $31 billion poorly tracked by Pentagon
According to Tom's Hardware, the Pentagon is struggling to account for F-35 warfighter parts worth an estimated $31 billion, a problem highlighted in a Government Accountability Office analysis published this week.
Scale of the inventory gap
Tom's Hardware reports that the Pentagon is struggling to track 26 million F-35 warfighter parts, which the report estimates to be worth $31 billion. The figures come from analysis published by the Government Accountability Office this week.
GAO criticises the inventory system
In its report, the GAO describes the current inventory system as outdated, inaccurate and incomplete. The report was published just weeks after China purportedly took a classified shipment of F-35 parts that had been diverted through Hong Kong, according to the same outlet's account.
The GAO also offered possible solutions, though the outlet notes that the inventory deficiencies could leave the most advanced and costly fighter jets in U.S. history not ready and reliable. Inventory problems have been a long-standing feature of the F-35 programme, the source notes.
Open questions
- Which of the proposed GAO solutions will the Pentagon adopt?
- How much of the missing inventory relates to the reported diversion of parts through Hong Kong?