The "root cause" that the program office and P&W stated in their joint press release is nothing more than what they previously stated, which was that a blade(s) rubbed, they overheated, and eventually shattered - with fragments penetrating the fuel tank and causing a fire. They have NOT officially stated what caused the rubbing in the first place, so it seems to me that the "root cause" has not been determined, or at least released as public information. As far as P&W paying for the fix (or more likely mitigation) seems doable, considering that each F135 in the latest contract costs ~$18.8M each, plus another $7.3M each for sustainment. Of course the lawyer in me would also be asking for damages, specifically the cost of replacing a $120M airframe.
Last edited by Maus92; 15th Oct 2014 at 20:38.