Pentagon Seeks $12 Billion More to Bolster F-35 Jet Program (1)

The Pentagon needs an additional $12 billion through 2031 to boost declining readiness rates of the F-35 fighter, the world’s biggest weapons program and a key part of the US arsenal in the Iran War, program officials have told congressional auditors.

The additional funding — mostly for spare parts — would add to the $1.2 trillion the Pentagon has already estimated it will cost to support the planned fleet of 2,470 Air Force, Navy and Marine jets over decades of service. That’s separate from the program’s $485 billion development and production phase.

The disclosure comes as ...