The most important part of this whole report is that the GAO exists, that it does this sort of thing and can do it effectively, and that the US has the honesty to make this sort of stuff public so that it can be rectified instead of hiding it so that they look clean and pretty.

I was a F-16 flightline avionics tech in Desert Shield. We flew alongside F-15. It seemed to me that the readiness rates of F-15 was about 55% as well... They lit up 10 jets only to get five off regularly.

29 years working for GD, Lockeed, then Lockheed Martin. F-16, F-22, and F-35. One thing I learned is that airplane development is just like a coal train leaving the station. By the time you get all the cars moving, the engines are slowing for the first crossing. This accordian behavior continues for the whole trip. I remember shipping F-16s to Europe and weekly flying LRUs back and forth while AIS shops were set up. The complexity for each new generation is exponentially more difficult. Keep doing what you are doing, there is no better.

You are seriously fact based. I appreciate your knowledge, your passion, your service to to the country and...your integrity.

said the same thing about the f-15 before golf war. then the war came and it like 90%

An incredible amount of the F-35 programs difficulties have originated with DoD mismanagement and the JPO. The DoD has a long history of complicating projects through a mixture of incompetence and constantly shifting priorities.

It is rare that I find someone who is able to drill down so far into an issue. Kudos.

Because not every day can be leg day.

Alex your videos are so inspiring. I like how you explain an issue then show what's being done to mitigate it. Thanks for all your hard work.

Just SIMPLY well put, thank you!!! Better breakdown given than just about anyone. thanks again

this is some really good context. i was in an air rescue and recovery wing that had 4 rescue c130's and 6 uh60 rescue birds, and only half of them flew at any given time. now if the balloon goes up, they'll fly nearly anything, so you have to keep that in mind.

How about recruiting and retaining competent maintenance personnel being a component? Seems a possibility considering the military’s reduced recruitment levels these days.

The US Army just chose General Dynamics and Rheinmetall as finalists for the 4000 Bradley replacement IFVs. Could you do a Firepower series video about this program, the two finalists and the other three that dropped out. Or more generally the current state of IFVs (Bradley, CV90, Puma, Lynx) and their most likely future. Maybe even including anti air IFVs like some CV90 variants and SkyRanger.

It would be interesting to see a comparison to readiness rates of carrier based F-35. They should be the best equipped repair depot, but also the most difficult to get spares to promptly.

Mr. Hollings, I deeply appreciate your use of fact based context in every video/report you present! It has been such an enlightening aid, as well as reminder, for everything in Life.

I remember watching a video from Covert Cabal that discusses this topic about a year ago! I remember him saying that in peacetime, every nation (China, Russia, the US, etc…) has only 50-60% of its fleet in combat readiness at any given time! In it, he mentions that if there is a war it goes to 80% and the only time that did happen was for desert storm and after the war ended it went down to 50% The reason he mentioned was the amount of spare parts needed to maintain the aircraft takes time to be produced and is only rushed in case of a war! And that you won’t always have enough maintenance crew because some might be on vacation or something so you won’t always have enough maintenance crew From what I understood from that video, expecting any country to have more than 60% ready in piece time is delusional

Well considering some of my most favorite squadrons turned over their f-18's just 2 months ago. I expect that a lot of units are in the process of rebuilding to support the aircraft. That usually takes a year to do it thoroughly. They might only need a quarter- half year given China's saber rattling.

I appreciate what you do because what you do is cut through the fog, at least as much as you can. Your personal insight is an asset as is your lucid presentation. I'm not military btw. Much respect Sandboxx from the UK

love the in depth and nuanced way that you report, this is by far the best military channel i know of, greetings from Holland

Because gluttonous oligopolies are bad for design and procurement. The Pentagon has lost multiple trillions of dollars that cannot be accounted for in any audit. Every stakeholder at every juncture is incentivized to maximize the extent to which price exceeds deliverables and actual cost. Luckily for the United States, every indication is that China and Russia are even worse with regard to corruption and grift. It’s human nature that has no simple policy solution nor theoretical economic panacea.

Alex, I'm wondering if our readiness rates are somewhat low, I'm wondering what our partner countries rates are like. Do they have to send them back to us and have a lower priority of repair? Or do they have their own avenues for repairing their systems. Thanks! Great work again.

Thank you for your service.

Great video for putting things into their proper context.

I was an Avionics Tech in the USAF working in a Component Repair Backshop. We would go into the boxes and troubleshoot down to circuit card and component level. (power supplies, switches, relays etc) Many times the "prime contractor" would tell us that there was no replacement part available and that we had no choice but to NRTS (Not Repairable Thia Station) the box back to the depot (aka Prime Contractor's facility). One time we just couldn't believe they didn't have the parts and called back until we got a different person, and they were like "Yeah, we have 6 of those right here." after being just told there were none. What was the difference? It was that the first guy we talked to was a "prime contractor" employee, and the second was actual USAF personnel. It only took 3 words to resolve that conflict, Conflict of Interest, and that company guy never answered the phone again. Come to find out that same "Prime Contractor" was trying to get our USAF backshop closed so they could take over the work, and they were trying to use our NRTS rates to justify it. They did eventually get it switched over to them and ran it into the ground so bad they lost the contract entirely. They make a LOT of money doing that, so it does not surprise me that they are dragging their feet in turning it over to DoD personnel.

Your reporting is the best anywhere

It's crazy that the DOD pays _1 trillion_ dollars for this program, without getting the IP rights over the software and technical data needed to maintain the aircraft. In every other sector, whomever is paying for the thing to get developed gets the IP rights.

"The SU-57's entire existence could fall within the DoD's margin of error". A brilliant quote illustrating that numeracy is key in the modern world. More often than not, people struggle with simple calculations that can approximate the world much better than their gut feelings.

Readiness rates mean that if a plane is not capable of performing every single mission it could do on paper, it is not fully mission capable. Like in the F-35's case, if the barely ever used internal cannon is not functional and maintained, it is not fully mission capable. Thus it is excluded in the readiness rate calculation. Even if this plane, would be a perfectly usable one, day 1 of WW3 against China and Russia or something.

Fantastic break down and comparison of the real issues. Really appreciate the info!

Thanks Alex! Informative.

The part about the proprietary data I feel in my spirit. It's not just a headache on the F-35

Excellent video, thanks for posting.

Let me check my math. If roughly half the F35s are not combat ready, for whatever reason, it means we could have ordered half as many, and paid half as much, but poor management has effectively doubled the price per combat aircraft? No problem there, just business as usual?

45% of fleet is down due to operational failures "Not that bad" Car fails gets you home 45% of the time. Firearm fails to works 45% of the time. Emergency Response fails to shows up 45% of the time. "Contextually its not that bad"

Outstaning, Alex ! Keep up the great work.

Great stuff brother! Preciate you!

I love how you call yourself the host. As an avid KZfaq watcher, you are the first I’ve heard say that and I think it’s classy and professional. Great job 👏🏼

Another excellent presentation. Thank you.

Informative and entertaining. Well done!

Another Outstanding Report Alex ! Thank You

Absolutely love the content man keep it up, props to the writers as well!

The best channel on youtube without a doubt! You are amazing Alex!!!!!

Thanks for doing this video

Thanks to WC for recommending your channel!

Excellent report! Thank you so much!

Bro your no shill. Not sure if your aware or not I assume you are but I saw you on an Australian news package a couple of weeks ago. I forget now what it was in relation to but in that moment I realized not only am I listening to the right sources but the rest of the western world actually looks to you as an authority in military news and current affairs as well!. Its a testament to your detailed and comprehensive analysis of everything military and combat related.

im not sure if you got a new editor or if your doing these your self but it seems the sound mixing is a little bit off in this video. seems like the music was a bit louder than it should be sort of overwhelming your voice at the end. once again not really a big deal but just giving some constructive criticism! absolutely no hate!! I've always very much enjoyed your content as you always put a lot of effort into the information you provide and how you provide it! keep up the great work!

I don’t know how you don’t have a million subscribers man, you have literally the best channel on the platform

Love your videos! Keep it up.

It would be useful to know if the low numbers are still primarily in the earlier builds. Some of the earliest are moving to aggressor squadrons instead of being updated to current standards. Keeping them flying likely skews the readiness and cost statistics versus the fully capable, later lots. Also, people rag on concurrency, but how is it significantly different than past programs. For instance, i don't believe we went to war with block 5 or 10 F-16s. The platform evolved after production started and the bulk of purchases were much better and more capable than at introduction. That's still concurrent development, just more indirect. Like other features of the F-35 program, it suffers some negative sentiment because the program was upfront about a lot of complicated issues. And few have done the legwork to compare how the program performed in those regards to past programs or alternatives (i.e. echoing your points in the video).

Thank you.

This is a part of why I think a utility-like regulatory scheme would be beneficial for the military. Going to a more rate case business model would solve a not insignificant number of issues

Regarding future episodes of Airpower, I'd love to see a deep dive into passive sensors, like IRST and DAS. That kind of capability makes modern air warfare look more like submarine warfare than WWII air combat

Alex I have seen the F-35 up close and personal at the Arctic Air Show at Anchorage and in Fairbanks. I am totally impressed with this flying machine. I just wish I could give you a two or three thumbs up instead of just one. Keep up the good work.

"and this Is airpower"!! I always say this out loud with Alex 😁

Take a bow, Alex. Utterly superlative breakdown of this discussion and explanation of how the components of the issue should affect the context within which the public discussion occurs. The GAO reports was important, but it is only a piece of the issue and should not be taken as a definitive review of the entirety of factors in play. Simply great journalism. 👌

I love your take! Nice work!

Great stuff!

Keep up the good work!

*DOD lets contractors into the sustainment loop again* "How many times do we need to teach you this lesson old man!?"

Thanks for your service!

Excellent summation.. It’s complicated..

Top notch analysis right here!

Accountability in this government? Someone will pull the fire alarm…again.

And that half can put up a fight that no one can stop.

Boggles my mind that we’re allowing contractors to sell us planes and ships without all the technical info. Can you imagine Rickover deploying a sub reactor that his men couldn’t service?

thanks Alex as usual you explain things with a+ common sense point of view to uniquely pin point plausible explanations of overlooked consideration to various factors and doable explanations to solving an array of issues.

Good analysis.

Excellent and fair analysis!

right on point

the problem is they are building "future" systems inherently expensive

Wow, Alex You outdid yourself. This was brilliant.

You keep doing what you do Alex, I really enjoy your channel.

Thankyou for a balanced perspective, too many people love to discredit the F-35 without understanding

Nuance and context are the key takeaways!!! The American general public should consider that when they hear articles that paint our defense apparatus in a bad light.

Context, I love context! And I love your work. Thanks!

Reminds me of the problems they had when they fielded the B-29's in WWII, a lot of the high tech had problems to engine over heating and catching fire.

Well said

Thanks Alex Hollings.... 🇺🇸

Excellent. For me Sandboxnews is , by far, my most trusted source of info for aircraft, and perhaps for other weapon systems as well.

Well said 👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿

Good report Alex, points well taken and so much of this is reminiscent of the problems with the Navy's LCS program. The F-35 is an instrument to kill targets, 90% readiness is a good metric. Anyone with stars on their shoulders who cannot increase the 50% metric by a significant degree within 90 days and beyond should find fewer stars on their shoulders.

another great video, thank ya much, Alex, when it comes to airpower you be the man . . .

Excellent absolutely excellent analysis

A point, if I may. You will find that both F-111 and F-22 had concurrency as part of their development. It would also be interesting to drill down the data and look at the readiness of just the operational units, because from what I understand the test and (some of) the training jets are dragging the team down

youre a very smart person, thanx

Reasonable take. Great job. 👍🏾

F-22 is my favorite. For a jet that was made 30 years go, LockHeed Martin really knocked the ball out of the park with the Raptor. No doubt.

Great job as usual Alex, I love the fact that you take very complex subjects and break them down where even an old jarhead can understand. Keep up the good work!

My favorite intro on youtube: “I’M ALEX HOLLINGS, and this is Air Power”

Amen. Thanks for the reality check. Way to go! And… as always…Well Done Alex!

Another great video, Devil Dog.

Every time I see the A-10 flying in formation. I assume the other aircraft are near stalling

As Germany is now planning to acquire 35 F-35A as a replacement for the Panavia Tornado, the issues the USA has will seem laughable compared to the problems the German military will have with it. It is reported that in 2018 out of 128 Eurofighters, only 10 were combat ready.

Alex, I would love a breakdown from you on the M1E3. I haven't seen anything from you on this and if I somehow missed it, which I don't believe is possible as I love your stuff, perhaps, point me in the right direction. It will be fascinating to get a deep dive into how the Army expects to see warfare in 2040 and beyond.

Alex, Semper Fi. I joined the Marine Corps in 1967 to avoid being drafted into the Army. There was no doubt that I would end up in Vietnam and I wanted to be with what I considered to be the best fighters. I went to OCS and by December 1968 I was an infantry platoon commander for 10.5 months with the final month and a half assigned as the assistant Battalion S-1. The Battalion cantonment was in the middle of nowhere and was periodically mortared. The Viet Cong attempted to overrun it three times that year. I also served two years in Central America supporting the host nation in counter-insurgency and collecting intelligence. That was a surreal two years. My last tour of duty before retiring was with U S Special Operations Command in the Joint Studies and Analysis Group (JSAG) mostly traveling around Latin America with 4 Army officers doing strategic analyses of selected countries. That was especially interesting work. I had a varied and interesting career and I'd do it all again if I could. I retired in 1989. From then until 2016 I supported military technology programs for Special Operations, the Army, the Air Force, DARPA, and the Navy. Fifteen years of that was as an independent consultant paid by the hour. That work took be around the world many times training military in using new technologies and providing technical support on military exercises. Very satisfying and interesting work. I'm 77 now but I still feel like a Marine. Thank you for your service in the Marines and your continued service to our military with these excellent videos.

Alex thanks for your method of communicating to non-aviation veterans and nerds. I learn from your vids. Tom.

Do any other countries have these same readiness issues?

Alex, with the backlog of Block improvements, would Depot retooling be required with these new enhancements? Is that a possible factor in not expanding the Depot's capabilities faster? Meaning, improvements now wouldn't be useful after Block upgrades?

Also. Semper Fi brother, I served 2012-2017.