The USAF has grounded 13 F-35A aircraft while it investigates the discovery of peeling and crumbling insulation in avionics cooling lines within the jets’ fuel tanks.
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The company plans to continue to work with that supplier in future F-35 lots, he said.
Such a blockage could lead to changes in pressure that “may cause structural damage to the fuel tanks”, the statement said. “Programmed flying training and other impacts will depend on the number and timing of aircraft returned to service”, Stefanek says in her statement. Those partner nations include Norway, Japan, Israel and Italy, a Lockheed spokesman confirmed.
“This was an issue where we got a bad part”, he says.
Israel has so far ordered a total of 33 F-35s and will be the only country in the Middle East to have the jet, which the USA military is just beginning to use after years of delays and technical problems.
Of the 57 aircraft, 13 are in the fleet, two belong to foreign buyers, and 42 are still on the production line, according to a statement from manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
The craft was declared combat ready a week later on August 2.
Stefanek said the Air Force ordered the temporary suspension of flight operations for those jets out of an “abundance of caution” regarding potential effects from the degraded insulation. It is unclear whether this delivery date will be met.
“I expect Lockheed Martin to identify the appropriate measures to correct this issue, and that they implement these as quickly as possible”, Klever said.
“Engineers with the F-35 joint program office and Lockheed Martin and Hill Air Force Base maintenance airmen have conducted inspections of eight aircraft and are now developing procedures to resolve or mitigate the issue prior to release of affected production aircraft to the field and the return of affected operational aircraft to flight operations”, the statement reads, noting that the service is working to lessen the impact on operations, training and readiness.
Other issues have led to delays and cost overruns, including software bugs, technical glitches and even a faulty eject system that risked killing pilots who weighed less than 136 pounds (62 kilos).
In 2014, the Pentagon temporarily grounded the F-35 entire fleet after an engine in one of the jets caught fire as the jet was preparing to take off at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, forcing the pilot to abort the flight.
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The F-35B, used by the Marine Corps, is capable of short take-offs and vertical landings, and the Navy’s F-35C is built for use on aircraft carriers.
