Pentagon directs engine vibration fix for entire F-35 fleet globally within 90 days

The F-35, branded as America's latest and finest fighter jet, has been recalled internationally to address an engine fault that has resulted in the grounding of some planes and the suspension of fresh deliveries, RT News reported. 

The F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) at the Pentagon authorised the patch earlier this week, requiring all of the planes to be upgraded within 90 days. The order covers all of the almost 900 F-35s delivered by defence contractor Lockheed Martin across the world, including those grounded since a December 15 accident at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth in Texas.

An examination determined that engine vibration caused the incident, in which a hovering F-35 landing vertically jumped upward before lurching forward and sliding around on its nose and right wing. The F-35B Lightning II fighter aeroplane flown by the US Marine Corps was engaged in the event.

Engine delivery of the F-35 has been halted

Lockheed replied by cancelling additional F-35 acceptance flights. Later in December, the Pentagon and Pratt & Whitney, the manufacturer of the F-35's propulsion system, halted engine delivery.

Investigators apparently attributed the issue to engine vibration, which the JPO stated occurs seldom and was known to be a concern with freshly constructed F-35s. According to Breaking Defense, a Pratt & Whitney official told reporters earlier this week that engineers had identified a "immediate resolution" to the problem and that "some jets" would need to be refitted.

F-35 programme is a 'rathole', says Congressman Adam Smith

The JPO directive, however, applies to all F-35s, including those provided to foreign military. The US has sold F-35s to Israel, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

Some US senators predict that maintaining the nation's F-35 aircraft would cost $1.3 trillion, owing in part to poor dependability. According to one estimate, only around 30% of the jets can do all of their allocated missions at any given moment. The F-35 programme has been dubbed a "rathole" by US Congressman Adam Smith, the senior Democrat on the House Military Services Committee.

The F-35 is not alone in its problems. According to a government analysis released in November, just four of the 49 kinds of US military aircraft were dependable enough to satisfy their "mission capability goals" in most of the years between 2011 and 2021.