F-35 Lightning IIs are being delivered to testing amenities once more as manufacturing returns to regular after a dramatic crash on a Texas runway late final yr grounded new fashions of the fighter jet.
The F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Workplace introduced final month that engineers had recognized a “uncommon system phenomenon” in F135 engines observed throughout inspections that adopted the Dec. 15 mishap, when a variant of the jet crashed on a runway at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Price. Lockheed Martin, the protection contractor for the F-35, mentioned the corporate is now delivering new jets.
“We resumed F-35 manufacturing flight operations right this moment following a F135 engine mitigation motion,” Lockheed Martin tweeted Monday. “Security stays our prime precedence as we proceed to provide the world’s most superior fighter plane.”
Learn Subsequent: Some Neck and Hand Tattoos OK for Airmen and Guardians Underneath New Coverage Geared toward Serving to Recruiting
A Marine Corps variant of the plane, an F-35B, crashed throughout a vertical touchdown try Dec. 15.
The F-35 Joint Program Workplace informed Army.com on Dec. 28 that some fashions of the F-35 already delivered to the companies had been grounded whereas the engine concern was investigated, however didn’t disclose the variety of affected plane. It isn’t but clear whether or not these jets have been allowed to fly.
Video footage posted on-line by CBS News’ Dallas-Fort Price station captured the December incident, with the F-35B trying a vertical touchdown when, shortly after touching down, the plane’s nostril cone smashed into the bottom and the jet started to quickly spin.
The pilot ejected from the jet, and his parachute opened simply earlier than hitting the bottom.
The pilot, an Air Pressure main who had been doing efficiency high quality checks on behalf of the Protection Contract Administration Company, was launched from the hospital shortly after the crash and suffered solely minor accidents.
Lockheed Martin delivered 141 of the plane in 2022, in keeping with a Dec. 30 press launch. That was simply shy of the 148 that the corporate was scheduled to ship. The groundings attributable to the Dec. 15 incident led to the shortfall.
Progress on placing new F-35s into the fleet comes because the army mentioned final month it was grounding an undisclosed variety of V-22 Osprey plane throughout the companies, together with the Air Pressure, as a result of a gearbox concern that has led to a number of incidents of engine hassle.
It additionally comes because the Air Pressure introduced final month that tons of of its KC-135 Stratotanker refueling planes, RC-135 Rivet Joint reconnaissance planes and WC-135 Fixed Phoenix radiation detecting jets are being grounded because the service investigates a defective half which, if not fastened, might doubtlessly trigger a part of a aircraft’s tail to fall off and result in a crash.
— Thomas Novelly may be reached at thomas.novelly@army.com. Comply with him on Twitter @TomNovelly.
Associated: After Crash Suspended F-35 Deliveries, Program Clears Hurdle
© Copyright 2023 Army.com. All rights reserved. This materials is probably not printed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
