U.S. loosens rules for Lockheed F-35, allows faster flight, tighter curves [???] Andrea Shalal 29 July 2014
"...Pilots can now fly at speeds of up to 1.6 Mach, up from 0.9 Mach, and carry out turns with a gravitational load of 3.2 Gs, up from 3 Gs, a U.S. defense official and other sources familiar with the program told Reuters on Tuesday....
...Sylvia Pierson, F-35 spokeswoman at a southern Maryland air base, said the Marine Corps' F-35 B-model jets and the Navy's C-model jets were now carrying out five or six flight tests a day.
Officials have determined that the engine failure occurred when a component in the third stage fan blade rubbed too hard against an adjacent seal during a certain flight maneuver, according to a briefing provided to U.S. lawmakers.
Details about the maneuver were not immediately available. A second defense official said other jets in the F-35 fleet that carried out the same maneuver did not exhibit signs of the "excessive rubbing" seen in the engine that failed."
U.S. loosens rules for Lockheed F-35, allows faster flight, tighter curves | Reuters