Pentagon grounds its entire fleet of F-35 fighter jets
All F-35 flight operations have been suspended until the investigation is complete, the Pentagon said in a statement on Friday.
"It is too early to know the fleet-wide impact of the recent finding," it said, adding F-35 Joint Program Office is working closely with Pratt & Whitney and Lockheed Martin at all F-35 locations to ensure the integrity of the engine, and to return the fleet safely to flight as soon as possible.
The Pentagon said a routine engine inspection revealed a crack on an engine blade of the F-35 engine installed in F-35A aircraft AF-2 operating at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
Engineering teams are shipping the engine's turbine module and its associated hardware to Pratt & Whitney's Engine Facility in Middletown, Connecticut, to conduct more thorough evaluation and root cause analysis, it said.
The
New
York
Times
said
the
suspension
of
flights
comes
at
an
awkward
time
for
the
military,
which
is
facing
automatic
budget
cuts
that
could
slow
its
purchases
of
the
planes.
The
F-35
II
is
a
family
of
single-seat,
single-engine,
fifth
generation
multirole
fighters
under
development
to
perform
ground
attack,
reconnaissance,
and
air
defense
missions
with
stealth
capability.
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PTI