Forty-Six F-35s Are Currently Without Functioning Engines Written 15 July 2021
An F-35 Lighting II at Nellis Air Force Base, NV | DoD photo by Lawrence Crespo; Wikipedia; Public Domain
The Drive reports that a “total of 46 F-35 stealth fighters are currently without functioning engines due to an ongoing problem with the heat-protective coating on their turbine rotor blades becoming worn out faster than was expected.” During Tuesday’s hearing before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces, “Air Force Lieutenant General Eric T. Fick, director of the F-35 Joint Program Office, confirmed that 41 U.S. Air Force F-35s, as well as one Joint Strike Fighter belonging to the U.S. Marine Corps, another from the U.S. Navy, and three that had been delivered to foreign air forces were grounded without engines. Those figures were as of July 8.”
Full Story (The Drive)