F-35 inventory lapses undermine Pentagon’s push for clean audit

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has pledged to deliver the Pentagon’s first-ever clean audit by 2028, but persistent accounting issues linked to the F-35 fighter jet — the country’s most expensive weapons programme — are proving a major hurdle.

For the sixth year in a row, the US Department of Defence failed to fully account for F-35 parts and equipment, contributing to one of 28 “material weaknesses” flagged in its latest failed audit, Caliber.Az reports per US media.

The F-35 stands out as the only major weapons system cited in the audit, underscoring the complexity of tracking financial data in a department with roughly $3.8 trillion in assets and $4 trillion in liabilities.

The Pentagon accounts for approximately half of the United States’ discretionary spending.

Hegseth has thrown his weight behind efforts to improve financial transparency. “We are going to focus heavily to ensure that, at a bare minimum, by the end of four years, the Pentagon passes a clean audit; the American taxpayers deserve that,” he said in February. A House Government Operations oversight hearing scheduled for April 29 will review progress toward this objective.

Criticism of the F-35 has grown under former President Donald Trump, with billionaire Elon Musk, a prominent figure in Trump’s cost-cutting drive, calling manned jets obsolete. “Some idiots are still building manned fighter jets like the F-35,” Musk said in December. Right-wing commentator Laura Loomer echoed this view on X last week, labelling the F-35 a “fiasco” draining US resources and threatening military readiness.

The $2 trillion programme includes an estimated $485 billion for the development and procurement of 2,456 aircraft, alongside $1.5 trillion in long-term maintenance costs. To date, 967 aircraft have been contracted, with 747 delivered.

The audit's material weakness finding reflects an inability to reliably account for or value key components — including tyres, landing gear, bolts, specialised tools, and test equipment — or accurately report them in financial statements, according to the inspector general’s office.

The root of the issue, according to the comptroller’s office, lies in the vast volume of parts involved and shortcomings in data management and automation. Despite targeted efforts, the F-35 programme “has not demonstrated improved inventory practices,” it said.

Both Lockheed Martin and the Pentagon’s F-35 programme office continue to face major difficulties in verifying and reporting on the global inventory of spare parts. Officials are working with contractors “to provide reliable data that verifies the existence, completeness and dollar value” of the spares pool, the comptroller added.

While Lockheed Martin declined to comment, the F-35 programme office acknowledged the challenges. It said a “logistics information technology working group” has been formed to develop an automated system linking Lockheed Martin’s and the Pentagon’s inventory systems — a move it claims is already showing “positive impact.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev