Always worth remembering the US is in this current situation literaly because of the MIC contractors themselves.

At the F-35’s depots, where more complex repairs and overhauls are done, maintainers only have the ability to repair 44 of 68 core components, and the Pentagon told the GAO investigators that they don’t anticipate having the ability to do all 68 repairs until 2027.

“Three challenges—lack of prioritizing funding, heavy reliance on contractors, and lack of technical data—have affected the department’s ability to build depot maintenance capability,” the report stated.

“According to officials from one depot we visited, components needing repair come with a Depot Component Maintenance Manual,” the GAO authors wrote. “However, these manuals are ambiguous and rarely are detailed enough for depot personnel to make the repair. As a result, depot personnel not only cannot fix the part, but they cannot learn and understand how to fix the part.”

As long as the depots are limited in their ability to perform certain repairs, mission capable rates will continue to suffer, the report concluded, citing a DOD analysis. At the organizational level, where more minor repairs occur, there are problems as well.

“These challenges include insufficient and unavailable technical data (including part numbers), spare parts, support equipment, and training for maintainers,” the report stated. “In general, maintainers at all three locations we visited tied these challenges back to the limited capacity and capability of the military services’ maintenance units in conducting organizational maintenance as a result of being reliant on the contractor.”

The contractors are responsible for the supply chain, meaning the government has limited control over the flow of spare parts, and the lack of technical data like part numbers means maintainers must wait for the contractor to provide services.

“F-35 maintainers at one location told us that they have access to so little technical information on the aircraft that they do not fully understand the aircraft or how to troubleshoot common problems,” the authors noted. “As a result, the maintainers frequently rely on contractor personnel for assistance in maintenance tasks they would be otherwise qualified to complete.”

Yes as if building more facilities for the MIC to milk the government with glorious Capitalist Efficiency^tm^ would improve let alone solve anything lol.