Flights of Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT)’s F-35 will be allowed to resume, the U.S. Defense Department said, ending a suspension that grounded the fleet after the discovery of a cracked engine blade in one of the stealth jets.
The affected engine had been subjected to “prolonged exposure to high levels of heat and other operational stresses” in testing, the Pentagon F-35 office said today in a An undated handout photograph shows Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-35 fighter jet, provided to the media on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011. Source: Lockheed Martin Corp. via Bloomberg
Inspections of other F-35 fighter jets didn’t find any other “cracks or signs of similar engine stress,” and no redesign will be needed for the engines built by United Technologies Corp. (UTX)’s Pratt & Whitney unit, according to the statement.
The F-35, the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons program, has been plagued by a costly redesign, bulkhead cracks, excessive weight and delays in software that have helped put it seven years behind schedule. The cost of the program’s 2,443 aircraft is now estimated at $395.7 billion, a 70 percent increase since 2001.
bloomberg
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