March 6, 2026

Summary Report: Lessons Learned from DoD OIG Reports on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program (Report No. DODIG-2026-061)

This summary report is one in a series that highlights key themes and lessons learned from our body of oversight work in several major areas related to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (F-35) program. We offer these summaries to provide helpful and timely information relevant to DoD priorities.

Dec. 19, 2025

Audit of the DoD’s Oversight of Contractor Performance for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Sustainment Contracts (Report No. DODIG-2026-039)

The objective of this audit was to assess the DoD’s oversight of contractor performance on air vehicle sustainment contracts for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (F-35) aircraft.

Sept. 10, 2024

Project Announcement: Audit of the DoD’s Oversight of Contractor Performance for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Sustainment Contracts (Project No. D2024-D000AT-0173.000)

The purpose of this memorandum is to notify you that we are initiating the subject audit. The objective of this audit is to assess the DoD’s oversight of contractor performance on air vehicle sustainment contracts for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft.

July 21, 2023

Management Advisory: DoD’s Ability to Financially Report Joint Strike Fighter Inventory (DODIG-2023-096)

Publicly Released: July 25, 2023

The purpose of this management advisory is to report on issues related to the accounting and reporting of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program inventory, collected during the DoD Agency-Wide Financial Statements audit. During the audit, the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG) found that the F-35 JSF Program Office did not have a valid population of Joint Strike Fighter inventory. In addition, we reported on the DoD’s plan for transferring the management, planning, and execution of sustainment activities to the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of the Air Force in accordance with the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2022.

Sept. 21, 2022

Project Announcement: Audit of the Joint Program Office’s Reporting of Joint Strike Fighter Assets in the Defense Property Accountability System (Project No. D2022-D000FV-0071.002)

We plan to begin the subject audit in September 2022. The objective of this audit is to perform test procedures of the reporting of Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) F-35 assets in the Defense Property Accountability System and determine the progress made by the JSF Joint Program Office to remediate material weaknesses and conditions identified by the DoD Agency Wide Financial Statement audit. We will perform test procedures as part of the DoD Agency-Wide Financial Statements audit.

July 18, 2022

Project Announcement: Evaluation of the Nuclear Certification of the B61-12 Nuclear Bomb (Project No. D2022-DEV0SN-0154.000)

We plan to begin the subject evaluation in July 2022. The objective of this evaluation is to determine to what extent the Air Force’s nuclear certification of the F-15, B-2, and F-35 to carry the B61-12 nuclear bomb complied with Department of Energy, DoD, and Air Force requirements. We may revise the objective as the evaluation proceeds and consider suggestions from management for additional or revised objectives.

Sept. 4, 2020

Audit of the F-35 Program Office’s Beyond Economical Repair Process for Parts (DODIG-2020-123)

Publicly Released: September 9, 2020

The objective of this audit was to determine the extent that the F-35 Program Office’s Beyond Economical Repair (BER) process identified parts that were damaged and determined whether a part could be economically repaired, and whether a DoD official approved the contractor’s determination that a part could not be economically repaired.

July 22, 2020

Theresa Hull, DoD OIG Assistant Inspector General for Audit, testifies before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: “Ensuring Safety and Accountability in the Government's Trillion Dollar Investment"

View the hearing here.

Oct. 17, 2019

Audit of the DoD’s Use of Additive Manufacturing for Sustainment Parts DODIG-2020-003

Publicly released: October 21, 2019 The objective of this audit was to determine the extent to which the DoD used additive manufacturing (AM) when obtaining sustainment parts. Specifically, we evaluated the DoD’s actions to implement AM for the sustainment of equipment and weapon systems, including the coordination of AM efforts across the DoD.

June 24, 2019

Follow-up Evaluation of Corrective Actions Taken in Response to a Prior DoD OIG Audit of the F-35 Lightning II Autonomic Logistics Information System DODIG-2019-100

The report is Classified. To file a Freedom of Information Act request, please submit a request to FOIA Online.