F-35 jet’s overworked engines may cost Pentagon $38 billion in upkeep
Lockheed Martin’s F-35 may need $38 billion in extra engine overhauls in coming decades to meet increasing demands to help cool radar and other components of the fighter jet, according to government auditors.
“The cooling system is over-tasked, requiring the engine to operate beyond its design parameters,” the Government Accountability Office said Tuesday in its annual report on the $412 billion acquisition program for the F-35, the world’s costliest weapons system. “The extra heat is increasing the wear on the engine, reducing its life and adding $38 billion in maintenance costs.”
Barring an effective fix, engine overhauls may come sooner than expected and will add another to-do item to the Pentagon’s $1.3 trillion estimate to operate and maintain the fleet of F-35s over 77 years of operation.
The engine issue concerns the aircraft’s “power and thermal management system,” which transfers pressure from the fighter’s single engine, directing the flow to cool other components. The more air pressure transferred, the hotter the engine runs.
The power system, based on specifications designed years ago by a Lockheed subcontractor, can’t keep up with the cooling demands of the jet’s increasingly complex avionics as well as new capabilities already installed or planned through 2035 during a current upgrade program called Block 4, the GAO said.
The GAO’s annual report also discloses that the cost of the Block 4 upgrade has grown by an additional $1 billion, to $16.5 billion, and that half of Lockheed’s 2022 aircraft deliveries were late.
On the positive side for
Lockheed, the F-35’s international profile has never been higher. Global interest has increased since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and amid increased tensions with China. South Korea has indicated it wants more of the jets, and two US Air Force F-35 units have flown deterrence patrols over Europe. Twelve military services worldwide have declared the F-35 operational.
Asked about the cooling system issue before the release of the GAO report, Lockheed said in a statement that “capabilities have continued to mature based on customer needs” and it “has efforts underway to account for and support these requirements.”
Lockheed said that the original design specifications for the power system were made by a team that included Lockheed, Pratt & Whitney, General Electric, Rolls Royce and government representatives.