{"id":2224389,"date":"2024-04-18T15:33:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T19:33:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/america-ignores-major-military-infrastructure-problems-at-its-peril\/"},"modified":"2024-04-18T15:43:25","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T19:43:25","slug":"america-ignores-major-military-infrastructure-problems-at-its-peril","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/america-ignores-major-military-infrastructure-problems-at-its-peril\/","title":{"rendered":"Neglecting Key Military Infrastructure Poses Risks for America"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Famerica-ignores-major-military-infrastructure-problems-at-its-peril%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2224389&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The U.S. military faces \u2062challenges with outdated equipment, as highlighted during\u2062 recent House Armed Service Committee hearings on the 2025\u200b budget.\u2064 Issues with the F-35 program,\u200c including low mission-capable rates and maintenance \u2063problems, point to broader \u200cconcerns about military readiness. Similar issues plague the U.S. Navy&#8217;s littoral combat ships, raising questions about procurement\u2063 practices and contractor influence.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>For generations, the U.S. military has acted as a bulwark against hostile foreign actors threatening the American homeland. But what happens when the military hardware required to project that deterrence doesn\u2019t work, is outdated, or decrepit?<\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, the House Armed Service Committee held hearings analyzing the 2025 fiscal year budget requests for the Air Force and Navy. Throughout their testimony, military officials and specialists answered questions about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-signals-support-for-campus-kangaroo-courts-with-latest-education-department-nomination\/\" title=\"Biden Signals Support For Campus Kangaroo Courts With Latest Education Department Nomination\">current problems facing<\/a> the force and how to address these issues moving forward.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1041434615\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-be4f475b6e856c082bf3a4f0ca5b6037 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-be4f475b6e856c082bf3a4f0ca5b6037\"><\/div>\n<p>At one point during the committee\u2019s Air Force hearing, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., probed officials about the F-35. That\u2019s a class of fighter jet produced by Lockheed Martin that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/products\/gao-24-106703#:~:text=The%20F%2D35%20Lightning%20II,planned%20life%20into%20the%202080s.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">described<\/a> as the Pentagon\u2019s \u201cmost ambitious and costly weapon system and its most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/russia-could-lose-billions-in-arms-sales-to-china-heres-why\/\" title=\"Russia Could Lose Billions in Arms Sales to China. Here\u2019s Why\">advanced fighter aircraft<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Gaetz <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RepMattGaetz\/status\/1780627938829848652\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">asked<\/a> Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall III what percentage of F-35s are \u201cfully mission-capable.\u201d For Americans concerned about U.S. military readiness, the answer was less than reassuring. <\/p>\n<p>After consultation with Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin, Kendall told Gaetz that only 55 percent of F-35s are deemed operationally available, a figure the secretary said is \u201cnot a good number.\u201d This prompted Gaetz to question the veracity of those figures, citing March 2023 testimony from Air Force Lt. Gen. Michael Schmidt, the head of the F-35 program, who <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.md\/gjGxB#selection-3881.78-3881.103\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> that, as of February 2023, the \u201cfull mission capable rate\u201d of these jets is less than 30 percent. <\/p>\n<p>Allvin clarified there is a difference between \u201coperational availability\u201d and \u201cmission capable,\u201d but noted he would \u201cnot dispute\u201d the accuracy of Schmidt\u2019s testimony. (The term \u201cfull mission-capable rate\u201d refers to the \u201cpercentage of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/taiwan-signals-it-will-ramp-up-military-power-in-preparation-for-war-with-china\/\" title=\"Taiwan Signals It Will Ramp Up Military Power In Preparation For War With China\">planes capable<\/a> of flying all their missions,\u201d according to <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.md\/gjGxB#selection-3881.0-3881.61\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bloomberg News<\/a>).<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-baed318aa41a7e55e17501df4550b768 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-baed318aa41a7e55e17501df4550b768\"><\/div>\n<p>The percentage Kendall provided matches the F-35 mission-capable rate disclosed in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/assets\/gao-23-105341.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">September 2023 GAO report<\/a>. That analysis found that the \u201cF-35 fleet mission capable rate\u2014the percentage of time the aircraft can perform one of its tasked missions\u2014was about 55 percent in March 2023, far below program goals.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"IYfdokxOvuBphFWDXMPA7mS3Qbzrwse5Hi9lq6tNGV4aTKyC1UJng2LjZRcE\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BREAKING: U.S. Air Force Secretary ADMITS that less than a third of F-35s built by Lockheed Martin are operationally capable!<\/p>\n<p>The Pentagon has given too much power to the defense contractors that are bilking American taxpayers. <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not going to get better unless we demand\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LCUD8OS4yt\">pic.twitter.com\/LCUD8OS4yt<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepMattGaetz\/status\/1780627938829848652?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 17, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Plane Problems<\/h2>\n<p>The problems with the F-35 program aren\u2019t new. It has suffered setbacks for years. <\/p>\n<p>Defense News published a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/hidden-troubles-f35\/2021\/07\/16\/the-number-of-major-f-35-flaws-is-shrinking-but-the-pentagon-is-keeping-details-of-the-problems-under-wraps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a> nearly three years ago detailing seven \u201ccritical technical deficiencies\u201d identified by the F-35 Joint Program Office. While the total represented a decline from the 11 issues reported by the JPO in January 2021, the remaining problems were \u201cclassified as category 1B issues, which represent a \u2018critical impact on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-navy-begins-discharging-sailors-who-refuse-coronavirus-vaccine\/\" title=\"U.S. Navy Begins Discharging Sailors Who Refuse Coronavirus Vaccine\">mission readiness<\/a>.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The aforementioned September GAO report (partly) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/assets\/gao-23-105341.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">blamed<\/a> the F-35\u2019s poor \u201cmission capable rate\u201d on \u201cchallenges with depot and organizational maintenance.\u201d The office noted the program \u201cwas behind schedule in establishing depot maintenance activities to conduct repairs,\u201d and, as a result, \u201ccomponent repair times remained slow with over 10,000 waiting to be repaired above desired levels.\u201d It also said the Pentagon\u2019s overreliance on contractors for depot maintenance is hampering repair costs. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-219caa8223b1314bd728317d1d54759c fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-219caa8223b1314bd728317d1d54759c\"><\/div>\n<p>\u201cAt the same time, organizational-level maintenance has been affected by a number of issues, including a lack of technical data and training,\u201d the report reads.<\/p>\n<p>The F-35s have also had software issues \u2014 enough that the Pentagon stopped accepting deliveries of them in July 2023. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defenseone.com\/policy\/2024\/04\/f-35-deliveries-could-resume-july-new-jets-wont-be-combat-ready-year\/395814\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Defense One<\/a>, program leaders signaled earlier this week they could \u201cresume taking the jets if their balky software upgrade can be released in a stable if limited form.\u201d While the update \u201ccould come as early as July [2024] \u2026 a combat-ready version of the software won\u2019t arrive for another 12 to 16 months.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The Government Accountability Office <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/products\/gao-23-106047\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">estimated<\/a> in May 2023 that the F-35 program is \u201cmore than a decade behind schedule\u201d and $183 billion over budget. Additional reports detailing the F-35\u2019s maintenance, availability, and cost issues can be found <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airandspaceforces.com\/f-35-reliability-maintainability-availability-2023\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/products\/gao-24-106703#:~:text=The%20F%2D35%20Lightning%20II,planned%20life%20into%20the%202080s.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Don\u2019t Forget the Navy<\/h2>\n<p>As many issues as the F-35 has, it\u2019s hardly the only military craft suffering from routine problems. The U.S. Navy\u2019s littoral combat ship (LCS) is a prime example.<\/p>\n<p>In September 2023, gCaptain, a maritime news outlet, published an <a href=\"https:\/\/gcaptain.com\/a-deep-dive-us-navy-shipbuilding-failure\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">extensive report<\/a> examining how the LCS is becoming \u201cone of the worst boondoggles in the military\u2019s long history of buying overpriced and underperforming weapons systems.\u201d Each LCS \u201ccost more than twice the original estimate,\u201d according to the analysis, which also highlighted the ships\u2019 \u201cmechanical failures\u201d and inability \u201cto carry out the missions envisaged by their champions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite experiencing these mechanical failures and issues for years, the LCS was regularly pushed by government and industry leaders, who, as gCaptain noted, \u201crepeatedly dismissed or ignored warnings about the ships\u2019 flaws.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne Navy secretary and his allies in Congress fought to build more of the ships even as they broke down at sea and their weapons systems failed,\u201d the report reads. \u201cStaunch advocates in the Navy circumvented checks meant to ensure that ships that cost billions can do what they are supposed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Report author Joaquin Sapien of ProPublica contended that private contractors \u201cwho stood to profit\u201d from their deals with the government reportedly \u201cspent millions lobbying Congress, whose members, in turn, fought to build more ships in their home districts than the Navy wanted.\u201d He also noted how the mischievous collaboration between these entities and the Pentagon presents a \u201cvivid illustration\u201d of what former President Dwight D. Eisenhower once referred to as the \u201cmilitary industrial complex.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe LCS program offers another clear lesson, one seen in almost every infamous procurement disaster,\u201d he wrote. \u201cOnce a massive project gains momentum and defense contractors begin hiring, it is politically easier to throw good money after bad.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Spend Smarter, Not Harder<\/h2>\n<p>While not as large as entitlement spending, military expenditures are a significant portion of the federal budget. Last month, for example, Congress spent <a href=\"https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/2024\/03\/congress-passes-825-million-defense-spending-bill-amid-political-battles-government-shutdown-threat\/#:~:text=WASHINGTON%20%E2%80%94%20Congress%20passed%20its%20%24825,of%20a%20partial%20government%20shutdown.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$825 billion<\/a> in U.S. taxpayer money to fund the Pentagon\u2019s 2024 fiscal year spending. That is slightly less than the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defense.gov\/News\/Releases\/Release\/Article\/3703410\/department-of-defense-releases-the-presidents-fiscal-year-2025-defense-budget\/#:~:text=On%20March%2011%2C%202024%2C%20the,Act%20(FRA)%20of%202023.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nearly $850 billion<\/a> President Biden has requested for the 2025 fiscal year. <\/p>\n<p>As with any problem that rears its head in the Washington, D.C. swamp, the solution from the political and industrial class is to throw money at lobbyists and contractors. At that point, the effectiveness and sustainability of U.S. military craft is less important than the financial perks enjoyed by lobbyists and industry leaders.<\/p>\n<p>With Red China on the rise and Biden\u2019s weakness inviting aggression from America\u2019s biggest adversaries, the infrastructure problems plaguing the U.S. military cannot be ignored. Ensuring efficacy within the force and restoring crippled hardware requires smarter oversight and spending decisions from Congress. Only time will tell if its members get serious enough to do so. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-e34f0b4d49990588ff2b915f888493ff fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-e34f0b4d49990588ff2b915f888493ff\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. military has long defended the American homeland against foreign threats. But what if critical military equipment is outdated or faulty? The House Armed Service Committee recently reviewed the 2025 fiscal year budget for the Air<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2224390,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Sailors_prepare_to_taxi_an_F-35C_Lightning_II_on_aircraft_carrier_USS_Carl_Vinson_March_30_2023.webp.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2224389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Sailors_prepare_to_taxi_an_F-35C_Lightning_II_on_aircraft_carrier_USS_Carl_Vinson_March_30_2023.webp.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2224389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2224390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2224389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2224389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2224389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}