The U.S. Navy has been removing parts from grounded aircraft and submarines to meet maintenance needs due to shortages of spare parts required for timely repairs, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported.

The watchdog reviewed five Navy programs: the F/A-18 and F-35 fighter jets, littoral combat ships, the Stryker Combat Vehicle, and Virginia-class attack submarines, to assess how maintenance was being managed.

It found that frequent delivery delays have forced Navy technicians to find workarounds to keep some platforms operational.

“Only that vendor can make the part, and generally, repairs to that part are made on the Original Equipment Manufacturer’s schedule,” the report states.

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