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Science & Technology
Flight Ops Of 15 F-35As Suspended Due To Fuel Tank Problem
2016-09-17
"The US Air Force and Norway announced the temporary suspension of flight operations for 15 F-35As today because of "peeling and crumbling insulation in avionics cooling lines inside the fuel tanks."

The problem, caused by a supplier, was discovered during depot modification of an F-35A and affects a total of 57 aircraft, 42 of them still on the production line.

The Air Force statement by Ann Stefanek says 10 planes at Hill AFB, Utah, four at Luke AFB, Ariz. (including the two Norwegian planes), and one at Nellis AFB, Nev. are affected. Of the aircraft still in production, 28 belong to the U.S. and partner nations (three are Norwegian) and 14 are Foreign Military Sales aircraft."

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Posted by:Blossom Unains5562

#2  From Lockheed Martin:
In consultation with our customers, a precautionary suspension of flight operations was issued for 15 F-35A aircraft. This action was taken after non-conforming insulation was found on coolant tubing carrying Poly-Alpha-Olefin (PAO) throughout the jet’s wings.

This issue was discovered during depot maintenance on one of the impacted jets where loose insulation was discovered. The issue is confined to one supplier source and one batch of parts. In total, 57 F-35As are affected; 42 are in production and 15 have been delivered to the U.S. Air Force and Norway.

This is not a technical or design issue, it is supply chain manufacturing quality issue. It will likely require depot-level maintenance to address the corrective actions for the 15 jets in the field. The U.S. Government and Industry engineering teams are analyzing the best approach to resolve this issue. For the 42 F-35As in assembly, the issue will be addressed prior to their delivery.
Posted by: Closh Whonter9525   2016-09-17 20:18  

#1  This is starting to look like a systemic problem, not a F-35 problem: How many defective foreign-made parts are in the military supply chain?
Posted by: magpie   2016-09-17 13:02  

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