ALIS/ODIN - No Autonomous Operational Capability
¶ 4. Availability Rate and Mission Readiness
¶ Mission Capable Rate: Declining Trend
The Mission Capable (MC) Rate of the F-35A has shown a continuous decline since 2020:
| Fiscal Year | MC Rate F-35A | Difference from 80% Target |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 71.4% (Peak) | -8.6 percentage points |
| 2021 | 68.8% | -11.2 |
| 2022 | 56.0% | -24.0 |
| 2023 | 51.9% | -28.1 |
| 2024 | 51.5% | -28.5 |
Sources: Air & Space Forces Magazine [14][22]
The Full Mission Capable (FMC) Rate -- i.e. the proportion of aircraft able to execute all assigned missions -- stood at only 30% in 2023-2024 [23].
¶ "War on Readiness" Failed
The F-35 Joint Program Office launched a "War on Readiness" in 2023 aiming to increase the MC Rate by 10 percentage points. Result: the rate rose by merely 2.6 percentage points to 55.7% [24].
¶ Spare Parts Shortages and Cannibalisation
The Pentagon Inspector General documented in December 2024 widespread cannibalisation due to parts shortages: at Naval Air Station Lemoore, 89 parts were cannibalised from various F-35Cs within four months [25]. Over USD 85 million in F-35 parts are unaccounted for according to the GAO [26], and over 1 million spare parts in total have been lost [27].
¶ CBO Comparison: F-35 Like a 36-Year-Old F-16
The CBO report of June 2025 found that the average availability rate of a 7-year-old F-35A corresponds roughly to that of a 36-year-old F-16C/D [28].
¶ Swiss Scenario
| Scenario | Available Jets (30 total) | Fully Mission Capable (FMC 30%) |
|---|---|---|
| US Target (80% MC) | 24 | 9 |
| Programme Target (65%) | 19-20 | 6 |
| Reality 2024 (51.5%) | 15-16 | 4-5 |
At current performance levels, Switzerland has on average 15 aircraft available for at least one mission type and only 4-5 aircraft for all mission types. For 24/7 airspace surveillance with reserves for training and maintenance, this is a tight calculation.
Smaller air forces are, according to the CBO, particularly sensitive to readiness problems because they lack the depot and repair infrastructure of the US armed forces [29].
Translated from the German version. See the German version for complete references.