DefenceTalkThe Defense Department lifted its grounding of the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter after analysis concluded that a cracked turbine blade in an engine on a single plane resulted from overuse in test operations, according to an official with the F-35 Joint Program Office. In an email statement, the official, Kyra Hawn, said engineers […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-lifts-f-35-grounding-following-inspections-47018/

DefenceTalkThe Pentagon’s director of the F-35 program said Monday the next-generation US fighter jet could be back in the air within a fortnight after an engine crack forced the grounding of test flights. Lieutenant General Christopher Bogdan, in Australia for talks on the jet, also dismissed any talk of foreign customers backing out of the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35-flights-should-resume-soon-pentagon-46961/

DefenceTalkAll F-35s have been grounded as a precaution after a routine engine inspection revealed a crack on an engine blade, Defense Department officials said Feb. 22 here. Officials call this a “cautionary suspension of flight.” The Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps fly F-35s. Inspectors found the crack in an F135 engine installed in an […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35s-grounded-as-precaution-after-crack-found-in-engine-blade-46917/

DefenceTalkNorthrop Grumman will help drive down costs and speed the availability of new hardware and software upgrades for the B-2 stealth bomber under a recently awarded contract from the U.S. Air Force. The contract covers Technology Development (TD) Phase 2 of a multiyear effort by Northrop Grumman to modernize the B-2’s defensive management system (DMS). […]https://www.defencetalk.com/next-phase-of-modernizing-b-2-defensive-systems-starts-46834/

DefenceTalkF-35B flight clearance was restored February 12, rescinding a cautionary suspension issued January 18 after a fueldraulic hose failure. Government and industry engineering teams conducted a root cause investigation and determined the hose was improperly crimped. All affected hoses have been inspected, and those out of tolerances will be replaced. The hose enables actuator movement […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35b-resumes-flight-operations-46802/

DefenceTalkWhen Air Force Capt. Jeff Haney’s F-22 fighter crashed in Nov. 2010, while he was gasping for oxygen in the cockpit, the Air Force surprisingly blamed it on him – not the plane. In a controversial Accident Investigation Board report released a year after the accident, Air Force officials cited three “human factors” as causing […]https://www.defencetalk.com/defense-officials-call-air-force-f-22-probe-sloppy-and-inadequate-46776/

DefenceTalkThe U.S. Department of Defense and Pratt & Whitney have reached an agreement in principle for a production contract for F135 propulsion systems to power the F-35 Lightning II. The low rate initial production (LRIP) contract would cover the fifth lot of engines, including program management, engineering support, production non-recurring effort, sustainment and spare parts. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35-program-office-details-lrip-5-engine-agreement-46699/

DefenceTalkIran over the weekend presented what it called a “significant achievement in the field of aerospace technology” — a domestically built fighter jet with stealth capabilities. Some aviation experts, however, believe the tiny, angular fighter jet with stubby wings shown to the world may have been an expensive mock-up and that video footage of the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iran-cloaking-truth-in-claims-of-new-stealth-fighter-jet-46678/

DefenceTalkGovernment and industry engineering teams investigating the origins of a failed propulsion fueldraulic line on an F-35B Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant have identified the probable cause and are developing a return to flight plan to lift the suspension of flight operations. The root cause investigation ruled out any design or maintenance issues. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/root-cause-determination-on-f-35b-flight-operations-suspension-46582/