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Old 5th Nov 2017, 09:02
  #10841 (permalink)  
ORAC
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
 
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About those 250 delivered jets. They may currently be flyable, but is corrosion now inevitable - and if s9 what effect will it have on airframe life?

Pentagon reports another production glitch in Lockheed Martin’s F-35

The Pentagon’s F-35 program office is weighing how to fix a newly discovered glitch that halted deliveries of the Lockheed Martin fighter jet for 30 days in west Fort Worth.

The problem was linked to a primer that is supposed to be applied as a protective layer on aluminum fasteners to prevent corrosion. The Defense Department temporarily stopped deliveries of the next-generation jet for a month, ending Oct. 20, to assess the issue.

“After a thorough government and industry investigation, it was discovered that Lockheed Martin had not applied the required primer in fastener holes on F-35 substructures during the aircraft production process,” Pentagon spokesman Joe DellaVedova said in an email. “This is a production quality escape issue and, though it needs be corrected to prevent potential future corrosion, it does not pose a safety of flight risk to the F-35 fleet or affect current operations.”

Discovery of the flaw came after the Pentagon has taken delivery of about 250 F-35s with plans to accelerate production including a block purchase by U.S. allies of as many as 211 jets. The Fort Worth plant, which employs about 14,000 workers, is expected to add about 1,800 workers over the next couple of years. This summer, the company held a series of job fairs in Fort Worth, where more than 2,000 candidates received job offers.

The fastener glitch has been flagged to Pentagon officials preparing Ellen Lord, the undersecretary for acquisition, for a meeting scheduled Nov. 6 with top Lockheed officials, including Chief Executive Officer Marillyn Hewson, according to an official who asked not to be identified.......
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