The Department of Defense said today that the military has grounded all fifty-one of its F-35 stealth fighter jets due to a crack in one of the Pratt & Whitney engines. The crack was discovered in the engine blade of an Air Force F-35A at Edwards AFB, Calif.
The newest “darling” of the air, the F-35 has been fraught with delays and cost overruns since its inception; in fact, this grounding comes hot on the heels of a recent grounding by the Marine’s version of the aircraft.
The F-35 was developed to replace the enduring, but aging, F-16s and F-18s. Some say the F-35 was forced into production before it was fully vetted and ready.
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, which has a baseline price tag of over a third of $1 trillion as of last March, represents America’s costly foray into fifth-generation stealth fighters along with the troubled $79 billion F-22 Raptor.
The plane comes in three variants: an Air Force version with standard takeoff and landing capabilities, a Navy version designed to take off and land from aircraft carriers and the Marine version, which is designed to land vertically like Britain’s famous Harrier jet
A spokesman for the engine maker, Pratt & Whitney, told The Army Times that the engine analysis should be complete in approximately a week.
The primary manufacturer of the F-35 is Lockheed Martin.
The Pentagon is expected to lift the flying ban after the Pratt & Whitney report and after thorough inspections of all the F-35s across the branches.
Examiner's Note: No reported combat losses of U.S. troops since Jan. 16, 2013!
The National Military Examiner publishes military and military-related content from around the world that often misses mainstream media, including all troop losses.
More related articles here on Facebook.
Use the SUBSCRIBE icon on this page for instant updates. Thanks for reading!
Comments