Pentagon Hands Lockheed $1.2B for a Fleet That Can't Fly

The F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) recently finalized a $1.2 billion sole-source contract for the sustainment of the F-35 Lightning II fleet. The Department of Defense (DoD) justified the lack of competitive bidding by invoking FAR 6.302-1, claiming Lockheed Martin is the 'only one responsible source' capable of performing the work. This award comes as the program faces a crisis of performance: according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report GAO-24-106407, the mission-capable rate for the F-35 fleet was below 55% as of March 2023. This is significantly lower than the military’s 75% target, meaning taxpayers are paying a premium to maintain a fleet that is unavailable for duty nearly half the time.

[FAR 6.302-1] is a federal regulation that allows government agencies to bypass the standard requirement for full and open competition when a service or product is available from only one source and no other will satisfy agency requirements.

The Pentagon's justification for this sole-source status is a self-inflicted wound. During the initial acquisition phase, the DoD failed to secure the technical data rights for the F-35. [Technical Data Rights] refers to the legal ownership of the blueprints, software code, and maintenance manuals required to repair and upgrade the aircraft. Because Lockheed Martin retained these rights, third-party contractors and even the military’s own mechanics are legally barred from accessing the information needed to perform high-level repairs. This has created a 'proprietary lock-in' where the government is a captive customer to a single vendor.

[Proprietary Lock-in] is a business strategy where a customer is forced to continue buying products or services from a single supplier because the cost or legal barriers to switching are prohibitively high.

The financial implications are staggering. The GAO reports that the total lifecycle cost for the F-35 is now projected to exceed $1.7 trillion. Of that amount, $1.3 trillion is dedicated solely to sustainment—the ongoing cost of keeping the planes in the air. By allowing Lockheed Martin to maintain a monopoly on repairs, the DoD has removed any incentive for the contractor to lower costs or improve efficiency. In fact, under the current arrangement, the contractor continues to receive billion-dollar increments regardless of whether the fleet meets readiness goals.

The money trail extends from the Pentagon to Capitol Hill. According to OpenSecrets data, Lockheed Martin’s Political Action Committee (PAC) and employees contributed over $3.9 million to federal candidates during the 2022 election cycle. A significant portion of this funding targets members of the House Armed Services Committee, the body responsible for authorizing the defense budget. For example, Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) are consistently among the top recipients of defense industry contributions. This creates a feedback loop: Lockheed funds the campaigns of the officials who approve the budgets that pay for Lockheed’s non-competitive contracts.

Mainstream coverage of the F-35 often focuses on the aircraft's stealth capabilities or its role in deterring foreign adversaries. What these reports leave out is the 'efficiency tax' paid by the American public. In 2023, the GAO found that the DoD is years behind in establishing its own repair depots. Currently, when a part breaks on an F-35, it often has to be sent back to a Lockheed-managed facility, leading to a massive backlog. As of last year, over 10,000 parts were waiting for repair, according to GAO-23-105341. To keep some planes flying, mechanics are often forced to 'cannibalize' parts from other aircraft—stripping a working component from one jet to fix another—which further degrades the fleet’s overall readiness.

This is not a matter of technical complexity alone; it is a matter of contractual leverage. The Pentagon has repeatedly signed off on 'Justification and Approval' (J&A) documents that allow these sole-source awards to continue. These documents serve as a legal shield, protecting the DoD from the requirement to find cheaper, more efficient alternatives. While the military complains about the high cost of the F-35, it continues to reward the primary contractor for the very maintenance failures it cites in its own readiness reports.

For the average citizen, this $1.2 billion award represents a direct transfer of public wealth to a private corporation with minimal accountability. The money funneled into these sole-source extensions could otherwise fund domestic infrastructure, education, or healthcare. Instead, it is used to pay a premium for the 'right' to fix hardware the public already bought. As long as Lockheed Martin owns the data, they own the taxpayer.

You can track the specific campaign contributions from Lockheed Martin to your representatives on our Gen Us Politician Tracker. See how your member of the House Armed Services Committee voted on the latest National Defense Authorization Act and compare it to their career donations from defense contractors.