9 mai 2024 | International, Aérospatial
4 février 2020 | International, Aérospatial
Lord Says F-35s Safe Despite Fastener Problem
By John A. Tirpak
The F-35 fleet is safe to fly, despite an unknown number of under-strength fasteners being used to build critical areas of the jet, Pentagon acquisition and sustainment chief Ellen Lord said Jan. 31.
Lockheed Martin workers mixed up titanium and Inconel bolts during manufacture of the F-35, and the Defense Contract Management Agency told Air Force Magazine neither the company nor the Joint Program Office knew how many aircraft were affected, or how far back the problem started. It said the whole fleet of 400-plus F-35s could potentially be affected. The titanium fasteners are lighter than the Inconel parts, and also have less shear strength.
Lockheed is to present its 70-day root cause analysis of the “quality escape” to the government in February.
At a press conference to discuss cyber security rules for Pentagon contractors, Lord said she had “looked at samples of that issue”—meaning the mixed-up fasteners—and said “right now we have assessed that there is no structural compromise of the aircraft.” She said the root cause analysis continues.
“The JPO is working closely with Lockheed; we will continue to asses if there are any issues, but we have confidence in the integrity of the aircraft at this point.”
Deliveries of the F-35 were halted briefly in November when the issue was discovered. A Lockheed spokeswoman said barrels of the two fasteners, which are visually similar and differ only in a number stamped into them, were mixed up at the company's Ft. Worth, Texas, factory, as well as the Final Assembly and Check-Out facility in Italy, though not at the FACO in Japan.
Titanium fasteners were installed in places where the Inconel parts were specified, and vice versa. An inspection of some number of aircraft—it did not disclose how many—led the company to conclude the problem is not widespread, and there is no plan in the works to conduct fleetwide inspections. Each F-35 has some 50,000 fasteners, of which about 1.7 percent are supposed to be made of Inconel. The F-35C Navy version requires 3.5 percent Inconel fasteners because of the greater size and loads on that airplane.
Lord said she's looking for “continuous improvement” in F-35 production, and reported seeing “incredible strides” in its quality over the last two-and-a-half years. However, “I think this is a journey that we will be on for the entire life of the F-35.” She expects Lockheed will continue to improve, “month over month, quarter over quarter, and year over year.”
https://www.airforcemag.com/lord-says-f-35s-safe-despite-fastener-problem
Sur le même sujet
-
-
16 septembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Terrestre
Israel Seeks $8B Arms Deal At White House: F-35s, V-22s, KC-46s
ARIE EGOZI TEL AVIV: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked President Donald Trump today for 12 Boeing V-22s, another squadron of F-35s to bring the total to 75, and the very early delivery of two Boeing KC-46As at the White House today. The request was made during a day of extraordinary meetings as President Trump, the Prime Minister of Israel and the Foreign Ministers of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates were to sign what are being called the Abraham Accords, meant to normalize relations between the Arab states and Israel. The new weapons are meant to keep Israel's qualitative edge after the U.S agreed to sell the F-35 to the UAE and Teheran rattles its homemade swords, furious about the new era between Israel and some Gulf states. Hours before hosting the signing of historic peace agreements between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain, President Trump doubled down on the idea of selling F-35s to the UAE. “I personally would have no problem with it,” the president told Fox and Friends this morning, “I would have no problem in selling them the F-35.” The Israelis, who understand the US political system well, are likely to press Trump to put the new sales in motion before the November elections to minimize the chances they might fall victim to a change in power in Washington. “The Israeli request will be based on an accelerated process aimed at getting all the approvals before the November presidential elections” one Israeli source told BD. The request is also likely to include a replacement for Israeli Apache AH-64A combat helicopters that are planned to go out of service in 2025. Israel, one source says, will also ask for “increased numbers” of bunker buster bombs, usually thought to be designed to strike Iranian nuclear sites. On top of all that, the Israelis may seek an advanced communication satellite, a source told Breaking D. The request for a new weapons package would be in addition to the existing Foreign Military Financing agreement with the US. The current agreement, signed in 2016, increased US assistance from $ 34 billion in the decade to $38 billion between 2019 and 2028. Why is Israeli seeking so much new gear? It's not, Israeli sources explain, because of the prospective sale of F-35s to the UAE, but because they believe this deal will open a new arms race in the region and they want to stay head of it. Israel is also concerned about the possibility of leadership changes in some Gulf countries The assessments for what's needed were drawn up when the IDF formed a special team headed by Maj. General Tomer Bar, the IDF's head of its planning and force building department. This team is reviewing the operational demands of some of the IDF ground forces units. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/09/israel-seeks-8b-arms-deal-at-white-house-f-35s-v-22s-kc-46s/
-
27 septembre 2021 | International, Aérospatial
Here are the cheap counter-drone solutions DoD tested in the Arizona desert
Find out who participated in the Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office's second demonstration as the Pentagon looks to bring new counter-drone capabilities into an enduring framework.