Pentagon Cannot Account for 17,000 F-35 Parts Worth $1.3 Billion, GAO Finds

The Pentagon cannot reliably account for about 26 million spare parts for the F-35 fighter jet, worth an estimated $31 billion, and about 17,000 components undergoing maintenance or repair — valued at at least $1.3 billion — never made it into the programme's official inventory system at all, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. The F-35 parts gap, detailed in the watchdog's report released on Monday, November 9, 2026, leaves the Defence Department without a clear picture of where some of its most sensitive military hardware is, or what it is worth.

Key Points

• GAO report GAO-27-108713: the Pentagon cannot reliably account for about 26 million F-35 spare parts worth an estimated $31 billion, spread across more than 700 facilities.
• As of March 2026, about 17,000 components in maintenance or repair, worth at least $1.3 billion — possibly up to $2.5 billion — had never been entered into the programme's Enterprise Logistics Management System.
• More than one million F-35 parts worth over $85 million, lost between May 2018 and October 2022, were still unresolved in March 2026.
• The inventory system cannot exchange data with property systems run by Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney — a problem known since 2022 and unresolved in August 2026.
• The Pentagon agreed with all four GAO recommendations; a full F-35 parts inventory is due in March 2027.

What Happened

The Government Accountability Office published its report, "F-35 Program: DOD Needs to Strengthen Oversight of Tens of Billions of Dollars in Parts", on November 9, 2026. It is the watchdog's third F-35 finance report since 2019: after years of warnings, the Defence Department still cannot say how many F-35 parts it owns, where they are, or what they cost.

The problem centres on the Enterprise Logistics Management System (ELMS), the programme's official inventory system. As of March 2026, more than 17,000 F-35 Lightning II parts in maintenance or repair were missing from ELMS entirely, worth an estimated $1.3 billion — possibly $2.5 billion with missing costs counted. ELMS cannot interface with the property systems run by Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney, so the programme office relies on quarterly contractor submissions, leaving some records more than three months old. It also has no procedures to validate contractor data: a December 2025 submission had serial numbers for only 29 percent of records, and some parts were listed as costing one cent or less.

Background: A Programme Too Big to Count

The F-35 is the Pentagon's costliest weapons programme, with three variants flown by the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy, plus configurations for 19 international customers. Lockheed Martin is prime contractor, Pratt & Whitney the engine supplier. It relies on more than 1,900 domestic and 2,100 global suppliers, with about 26 million parts across more than 700 facilities. The US and Japan recently agreed to build missiles for F-35 jets in Japan.

The failures are not new: in 2023 the GAO found a prime contractor had lost more than one million F-35 parts worth over $85 million in 2018-2022. By March 2026 it had filed about $28 million in loss reports, with about $6 million in liability, but the programme office could not tell whether those reports covered the earlier losses, having kept no records.

17,000 F-35 Parts Missing From the Pentagon's Tracking System

The report lands as the Pentagon investigates how F-35 components shipped from Australia to the United States for repair ended up in Hong Kong, potentially exposing the jet's secrets to China. The shipment included a cockpit canopy and a weapons-bay door fitted with radar-absorbing materials; Bloomberg traced the diversion to a missed email by a UPS employee. The Pentagon is investigating and trying to retrieve the components. The GAO did not link the Hong Kong diversion to the inventory problems, but its findings underscore the difficulty of tracking F-35 parts.

Reactions and Quotes

The GAO warned the consequences go beyond bookkeeping. "Without accurate data in its [accountable property system of record] and properly executed inventory procedures for F-35 parts, DOD management will not have the information it needs to support warfighter readiness and reliable financial reporting," the watchdog said.

The F-35 Joint Program Office told Breaking Defense it was "actively working" to address the issues raised, including new procedures and training for officials responsible for government-owned property. "The JPO is modernizing its property management infrastructure by establishing direct, real-time data interfaces between government and prime contractor systems. This integration directly addresses previous system gaps to ensure seamless accountability of F-35 spare parts," the spokesperson said.

Lockheed Martin deferred all questions about the report to the programme office. The Pentagon agreed with all four GAO recommendations, which call for stronger oversight of reported losses and clearer procedures for officials who track government-owned property.

Why It Matters

Without accurate records, the Pentagon may struggle to determine which parts it needs and in what quantities — and a jet grounded for want of a part it owns somewhere is a readiness failure as much as a financial one. That could complicate the Pentagon's $13.7 billion Global Support Solution Reset strategy, which calls for more investment in F-35 performance, including greater spare parts availability.

The F-35 is flown by the United States and 19 partner nations, and its parts move through a global network of depots and repair shops. Every unaccounted component is a gap in that network — and, as the Hong Kong diversion shows, a gap that can put sensitive technology in the wrong hands. The Pentagon has also been moving large volumes of military equipment to the Middle East, adding pressure to the same logistics systems the GAO found wanting.

What Happens Next

The Defense Contract Audit Agency is working with the F-35 Joint Program Office on a full inventory of F-35 parts, due in March 2027 — the first complete count the programme has attempted. The programme office says it is building direct, real-time data interfaces between government and contractor systems. Congress, which funds the programme, is likely to demand updates as the inventory proceeds. Until the count is done, the Pentagon will not know how much of its $31 billion in F-35 spares it can find.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many F-35 parts can the Pentagon not account for?
About 17,000 components in maintenance or repair, worth $1.3 billion to $2.5 billion, were missing from the inventory system in March 2026. Overall, about 26 million spare parts worth $31 billion cannot be reliably accounted for.

Why are the parts missing from the system?
ELMS cannot exchange data with the property systems of Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney. The programme office relies on quarterly contractor submissions, and nothing validates the data before entry.

What happened to the F-35 parts sent to Hong Kong?
A cockpit canopy and a weapons-bay door shipped from Australia to the United States for repair were diverted to Hong Kong. Bloomberg traced it to a missed email by a UPS employee. The Pentagon is investigating and trying to retrieve them.

What happens next?
The Defense Contract Audit Agency is working on a full inventory of F-35 parts, due in March 2027. The Pentagon has agreed with all four GAO recommendations.