F-35s deploy w/ inompatible spares

Spare parts the Marine Corps took with some of its F-35B Joint Strike Fighters on a recent overseas deployment were not compatible with the vertical and short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) variant of the fifth-generation fighter, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office. Investigators found 382 of 886 parts onboard USS Wasp and 339 of 768 parts on USS Essex – about 45 percent of 1,654 parts - were incompatible with the F-35Bs onboard. Those parts included pilot harnesses, masks, breathing hoses, fire extinguishers, sensor elements for the jet, batteries, electrical equipment, antennae, multiple types of valves and panel assemblies, the GAO report stated. The lapse in supply chain management is one of myriad reasons the F-35 stealth jet fleet, operated across all three services with different variants, is falling short of its DoD-directed performance and operational requirements, according to the GAO report. (Source: Military.com 04/29/19)