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0:34

Kenneth Wilsbach

62:05 - 62:40

"the F-35 has performed marvelously in Epic Fury. And you're right, the aircraft availability averages out over the course of time at about 50%, but of the jets that we actually had forward performed much, much greater than that."

the F-35 has performed marvelously in Epic Fury. And you're right, the aircraft availability averages out over the course of time at about 50%, but of the jets that we actually had forward performed much, much greater than that.
Speaker
Kenneth Wilsbach
Community
Alaska News
Captured at
June 9, 2026

From the transcript

Unfortunately, only about 50% of the fleet was available for operations when the war began. What is the status of Air Force efforts to improve the combat readiness of our F-35s? Thank you, Senator. Yes, the F-35 has performed marvelously in Epic Fury. And you're right, the aircraft availability averages out over the course of time at about 50%, but of the jets that we actually had forward performed much, much greater than that.

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