On September 3, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report titled “F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: Actions Needed to Address Late Deliveries and Improve Future Development”. This is just one of numerous studies this watchdog organization released in the last ten years or so, revealing the sheer scope of the JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) program’s mismanagement, delays and cost overruns. GAO found that, after years of troubles in the hardware and software modernization efforts for the F-35 (officially designated as the Block 4 upgrade), the Pentagon is now forced to establish “a new major subprogram to help meet cost, schedule, and performance goals”.

The report found that Block 4 costs well over $6 billion more than initially projected and that its completion and implementation are at least five years behind schedule. The subprogram aims to “reduce the scope of Block 4 to deliver capabilities to the warfighter at a more predictable pace than in the past”. In other words, Block 4 will be scaled down in scope, meaning that the F-35 will be less capable than initially planned. Worse yet, after wasting well over half a decade on upgrades that won’t be ready before early to mid-2030s, the US military will now get a platform that’s worse than previously anticipated. This demonstrates the growing ineffectiveness of the American Military Industrial Complex (MIC).

GAO also found that both Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney (designer and manufacturer of the F-35 and its F135 engine, respectively) continued delivering aircraft and engines late. For instance, in 2024, LM delivered 110 aircraft, all of which were late by an average of 238 days, up from 61 days in 2023, an increase of nearly 300%. The study pointed out that the US government “paid contractors, such as Lockheed Martin, hundreds of millions of dollars in incentive fees that were intended to improve on-time delivery”. And yet, instead of accelerated deliveries, delays actually got worse, because the structure of these incentives allowed the contractor(s) to deliver aircraft up to 60 days late and still earn some of the fees.

GAO suggested that the program be reevaluated in its use of on-time delivery incentives and fees in future contracts. Theoretically, this could rectify the issue of rewarding late deliveries. And yet, it still doesn’t speed up the process, making it impossible for the US military to meet rearmament goals. The troubled F-35 program is already projected to cost several times more than initially proposed, reaching well over $2 trillion. This is without even considering the still unknown cost overruns and delays (which have a cumulative effect of exacerbating costs) of the aforementioned Block 4 upgrade. Formally, the Pentagon wants approximately 2,500 F-35 fighter jets, but it’s questionable whether that many can be made.

It should be noted that the US MIC is now increasingly ineffective even when it comes to building strategic weapon systems, including basic intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Namely, the newest ICBMs in America’s arsenal are now well over half a century old. The legacy LGM-30G “Minuteman 3” is effectively “beyond repair” at this point, as its modernization potential had been exhausted decades ago. Its replacement, designated LGM-35A “Sentinel”, is being developed by the notorious Northrop Grumman Corporation, one of the most prominent companies of the infamous MIC. And yet, even this program has been marred with major issues since its very inception, including massive cost overruns and delays.

Officially known as the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), it’s one of the most ambitious and complex ever undertaken by the Pentagon. However, the “Sentinel” has been plagued by numerous problems, including issues with basic technologies that shouldn’t really be a problem for a country like America. These issues have even resulted in proposals for the USAF to retire the ancient “Minuteman 3” completely and divert the freed-up resources to the “Sentinel”. However, this would leave Washington DC entirely without the land-based leg of its triad, effectively eroding it into a dyad composed of SLBMs (submarine-launched ballistic missiles) and strategic bombers armed with bombs and air-launched missiles.

Meanwhile, the multipolar world zooms ahead with some of the most advanced weapons programs in history. For instance, China is a particularly “unpleasant surprise” for the political West, with its fighter jets now an entire generation ahead of Western ones. Back in late 2024 and early 2025, the Asian giant showcased several prototypes of “sixth-generation” aircraft, sending shockwaves across the political West which firmly believed it was “decades ahead of everyone”. Beijing is also upgrading its already impressive hypersonic arsenal and existing aircraft, arming them with new weapons and upgrading their systems and subsystems, making them relevant for decades to come.

Other multipolar powers are also engaged in such modernization efforts, including through close cooperation. In that regard, Russia is working with both China and India. Their already close ties are now reaching unprecedented levels, with Moscow offering top-notch defense technologies to Delhi. In addition, the interoperability of the three multipolar powers is improving, with Russia conducting joint military drills with both Asian giants. The exchange of technologies, ideas, doctrinal and operational capabilities, etc., is making it possible for all multipolar powers to improve their defense capabilities in the face of (neo)colonial aggression (which is now often manifested through economic warfare).

Meanwhile, the US-led political West is increasingly isolated from the actual world. This is exacerbating its inability to acquire modern technologies that are now increasingly found in countries like China, where scientific development and innovation have become the norm. The Pentagon still boasts about its non-existent “technological superiority”, insisting that the troubled F-35 will supposedly be upgraded with “sixth-generation” technologies. However, the GAO report clearly demonstrates that the US cannot even master the current level of military tech, let alone implement the newer found on various next-generation platforms, much unlike Russia, for instance, which is already upgrading its Su-57s with such technologies.

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