F-35B Lightning II launches from the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) during the Theater Amphibious Combat Rehearsal (TACR).(US Marines/Cpl. A. J. Van Fredenberg)
WASHINGTON — After a two-month pause over safety concerns, the Pentagon has approved the resumption of deliveries of the F135 engine to the F-35 joint strike fighter.
The pause began on Dec. 27, as the department launched an investigation into the cause of a mid-December crash, dramatically captured on film, in which an F-35B attempted to land before it began to go out of control. The pilot ejected safely but the plane sustained heavy damage. The engines of the stealthy jet are produced by Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies.
“Following an aircraft inspection in December 2022, a safety concern was identified with the F135 engine,” F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) spokesman Russ Goemaere said in a statement. “Since December, Pratt & Whitney along with engineers from the JPO, Lockheed Martin, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) and the Air Force Lifecycle Management Center (AFLCMC) have worked tirelessly to understand and develop mitigations for a rare system phenomenon involving harmonic resonance to develop a path forward for safe operation of the F135 in flight.
“The actions the government and industry team are taking will ensure incorporation of mitigation measures that will fully address/resolve this rare phenomenon in impacted F135 engines. At this time, the JPO has authorized the resumption of engine deliveries to the production line.”
However, the statement noted that the JPO is still “working to provide instructions to the fleet and to Lockheed Martin to enable safe resumption of flight operations of impacted aircraft and new production aircraft.”
