The cause of a June engine fire involving an F-35 Lightning II has been determined, according to a joint report from the Department of Defense and engine supplier Pratt and Whitney, Military Times reports.
Following on Lockheed Martin's announcement that it is attempting to trim the cost of a single F-35 fighter by way of a $170-million investment between now and 2019, the Pentagon could be set to announce that it will toss in as much as $300 million to that effort.
Of the many arrows in the quiver of the F-35 Lightning's critics, the overall cost of the plane and its accompanying development is the most frequently used. The farcically high procurement and development costs – $398.6 billion, as of April – are only overshadowed by the individual cost of a plane, which is expected to exceed $100 million, regardless of which branch of the service it's for.
The US Marine Corp's first F-35B jump-jet squadron, Fighter Attack Squadron 121, have officially kicked off their training on the new fighter, which will replace the aging (but still awesome) AV-8B Harrier.
The fire that engulfed an F-35 Lightning II at Florida's Eglin Air Force Base was due to "excessive" rubbing between the engine and a rubber piece, causing microcracks in the rubber, according to a new report from Air Force Times.
Jet engine supplier Pratt and Whitney confirmed yesterday that it stopped production of F135 engines slated for the F-35 Lightning II for a three-week period in May of 2014 after an issue with a titanium supplier.
With all the problems and delays facing the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, critics of the program have had plenty of ammunition at their disposal. Now, they're about to get one more figure to lob at proponents of the plagued fighter – its cost. Now, we know the F-35 program itself is very pricey – the latest reports claim the jet has already cost an eye-watering $
The military's F-35 Lightning II has not had an easy road these past several years. The most recent problem for the fifth-generation fighter came in late June, when an engine fire broke out on an F-35 at Eglin Air Force Base. Despite this, Air Force brass continues to stand by the embattled Joint Strike Fighter.
