A new IG audit finds DoD isn’t fully tracking F‑35 contractor performance, raising questions about oversight on the Pentagon’s costliest program
A new IG audit finds DoD isn’t fully tracking F‑35 contractor performance, raising questions about oversight on the Pentagon’s costliest program  
Podcast: The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton
Published On: Thu Feb 12 2026
Description: The F‑35 is the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons program, and the Department relies on contractors to keep it performing as promised. But a new DoD Inspector General audit says the Department isn’t consistently tracking or documenting that performance, leaving gaps that affect cost, schedule, and readiness. We'll look at what the auditors found and what DoD is doing about it with Chris DePerro, Supervisory Auditor, Program Director, Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.