The trouble continues for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the aircraft with more bugs than Klendathu.
- A “couple dozen” Marine Corps F-35Bs were grounded to repair two fuel tubes, Defense News and Marine Corps Times first reported on Thursday, the second time so far this month.
- On Oct. 11, the Pentagon’s Joint Program Office that oversees the F-35 ordered all of the planes to suspend flight operations in order to replace a different fuel tube that was identified as a problem as part of an ongoing investigation into the Sept. 28 crash of an F-35B in South Carolina.
- An analysis of the F-35’s engine determined that the two other fuel tubes needed to be replaced even though they had not failed, said JPO spokesman Joe DellaVedova, adding that the repairs “can be completed on the flight line by line maintainers.”
- “When a part is available, we anticipate replacements can be completed in less than 48 hours,” DellaVedova told Task & Purpose on Thursday. “Parts are in the supply line and Pratt & Whitney is working to expeditiously further ramp up supply. The exact number of engines that may require replacement fuel tubes speaks to operational security and readiness status of the fleet, and will not be released by the JPO.”
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