![]() “Collaboration and partnership have been on full display as the joint team determined solutions and resumed F-35 deliveries,” says Bridget Lauderdale, vice-president and general manager of Lockheed’s F-35 programme. Lockheed praised that effort, saying it remains committed to providing safe and effective equipment to American and allied personnel. ![]() “The government and industry team worked tirelessly on this effort and their work demonstrates true professionalism and a devotion to accomplish complex missions with stringent ingenuity,” says Lieutenant General Mike Schmidt, programme executive officer at the F-35 JPO. That paved the way for Lockheed to resume flight operations on pre-delivery F-35 airframes, which the company announced on 6 March.Ī week later, the Pentagon is satisfied the problem has been resolved and the 10-week pause has concluded. P&W has since resumed deliveries of new F135 engines to Lockheed and begun modifying existing F-35s with the fix. The engine maker identified the cause of the problem in February and developed a “mitigation measure”. She notes the issue occurs at “a certain frequency and certain amplitude” – when multiple parameters converge to create a “very rare systems phenomenon”. “Think of it as a vibration,” says Jennifer Latka, P&W vice-president of F135 programmes. The cause, according to the jet’s engine maker Pratt & Whitney (P&W), was later determined to be a previously unknown issue in the F135 power plant that caused unwanted harmonic resonance. Shortly after, Lockheed and the Pentagon grounded all F-35 airframes with under 40h of operational use. The pilot in that incident ejected at ground level, following a failed vertical landing attempt. The DoD had stopped accepting new F-35 airframes after a short take-off and vertical landing F-35B crashed during pre-delivery flight trials in December. The office notes it approved all of the aircraft for operational use after the jets passed “extensive technical and flight worthy checks”. “ are currently working with the US services, partner nations and Foreign Military Sales customers on the movement of aircraft to their operational units,” the JPO says. Airline Business special: CEOs to watch in 2021į-35 deliveries have been on hold since December, when a previously unidentified engine issue caused the crash of an F-35B undergoing certification at Lockheed Martin’s assembly plant in Fort Worth, Texas.FlightGlobal Guide to Business Aviation Training and Safety 2021.EDGE: A new global force in aerospace and defence.Shell Aviation: What will it take to Decarbonise Aviation?.What does the future of aviation look like in 2022?.Guide to Business Aviation Training and Safety 2022.What will it take to Decarbonise Aviation?.Airline Business Covid-19 recovery tracker.
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