This is the best summary I could come up with:

Days after a $100 million F-35B crashed in rural South Carolina, a government watchdog report released Thursday highlights ongoing maintenance delays showing F-35 fighter jets are only “mission capable” 55% of the time.

The F-35 program, led by military contractor Lockheed Martin, is one of the Pentagon’s most expensive, costing taxpayers a total of $1.7 trillion over its lifespan.

Much of the program’s expense — $1.3 trillion — is spent on the cost of maintaining and operating the fighter jets, according to the new GAO report.

Maurer says the fighter jet’s overall sustainment “rests entirely on Lockheed Martin and the sub-contractors it hires.” While this is not unique to the F-35, the GAO found that this contractor-led approach can cause delays.

For example, the report notes that the GAO spoke to military maintenance staff at three locations who said they were not allowed to look up spare part numbers for the F-35 because the proprietary database was controlled by Lockheed, the prime contractor.

The GAO review was mandated by Congress as part of last year’s defense bill after ongoing maintenance challenges were identified.

The original article contains 370 words, the summary contains 182 words. Saved 51%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Days after a $100 million F-35B crashed in rural South Carolina, a government watchdog report released Thursday highlights ongoing maintenance delays showing F-35 fighter jets are only “mission capable” 55% of the time.

The F-35 program, led by military contractor Lockheed Martin, is one of the Pentagon’s most expensive, costing taxpayers a total of $1.7 trillion over its lifespan.

Much of the program’s expense — $1.3 trillion — is spent on the cost of maintaining and operating the fighter jets, according to the new GAO report.

Maurer says the fighter jet’s overall sustainment “rests entirely on Lockheed Martin and the sub-contractors it hires.” While this is not unique to the F-35, the GAO found that this contractor-led approach can cause delays.

For example, the report notes that the GAO spoke to military maintenance staff at three locations who said they were not allowed to look up spare part numbers for the F-35 because the proprietary database was controlled by Lockheed, the prime contractor.

The GAO review was mandated by Congress as part of last year’s defense bill after ongoing maintenance challenges were identified.

The original article contains 370 words, the summary contains 182 words. Saved 51%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!