Washington | Only about half of the Pentagon’s fleet of F-35 fighter jets are considered mission-capable, well below the target of 65 per cent and a state of readiness the program manager terms “unacceptable”.

As of February, the monthly average rate of mission-capable jets in the US’s fleet of more than 540 F-35s was 53.1 per cent, according to Air Force Lieutenant General Michael Schmidt, the program manager. That means they can fly at least some of their required missions, such as combat, show-of-force flights, training and testing.

Bloomberg