The American company, "Lockheed Martin", which specializes in the defense industries, has delivered 800 of its new F-35 fighters, while concerns are growing about the defects, which have increased after the many crashes it was exposed to.
The Pentagon announced in a statement that Lockheed Martin has delivered 800 of its new F-35 fighters to its international customers. This comes at a time when there are concerns about the defects of this fighter, which has drawn attention to the increasing number of crashes.
The agency, which is affiliated with the Pentagon, said that the specifications of the F-35 have improved after the 14th batch of modifications made to it. However, its "quality cannot be assured" even after checking for defects during its initial acceptance into service.
Adding that this situation "is a problem for the users of the fighter, as it is a source of great concern and negatively affects the fleet." Despite some improvements, "previous performance risks remain" until "the need for spare parts, rework or repair is significantly reduced".
800 fighters But!
The United States presents the F-35 fighter as an icon of the American defense industry. According to Bloomberg, foreign demand for armaments with the aforementioned fighter is on the rise, as Finland and Switzerland joined the group of those wishing, in addition to Germany and Greece, and South Korea announced its desire to buy it.
Reassuring its customers, Lockheed Martin said in a statement that it works "closely" with its customers and is committed to "delivering high-quality products on time." Much improvement since the start of the F-35 program."
The Defense Contracts Agency explained that the Lockheed facility in Fort Worth, Texas, has "significantly improved the management of the parts supply chain and significantly improved the reliability metric over the past four to five years." However, "some quality issues persist, and are discovered after official acceptance of the aircraft."
Disadvantages and risks
On November 17, the crash of a British Air Force F-35 aircraft in the Mediterranean Sea raised many concerns about the safety and quality of these modern American fighters.
This incident was not a precedent, but rather just an episode in the long history of F-35 crashes, as a US Marine Corps aircraft of the same type crashed in South Carolina in September 2018, as the fuel tube ruptured when the plane's engine stopped working and thus crashed.
And nearly 4 months before the Carolina accident, another fighter of the same model crashed in America due to a fire, which also caused the fall of another in 2014 on a routine mission near the base of West Florida.
According to a previous report by the British newspaper “Daily Mail”, the reason for the crash of the F-35 of the Royal Air Force, the engine of the stealth aircraft pulled the rain cover during take-off from the aircraft carrier “Queen Elizabeth”, which led to the engine failure and the plane falling into the water. average shortly after take off.
In the aftermath of that incident, members of the British Navy reported that they found the stealth fighter's rain cover floating in the sea near the British aircraft carrier. The British newspaper "The Sun", citing informed sources, said that the British Air Force pilot realized the matter and tried to prevent the fighter from taking off, but he was unable to stop it due to the shortness of the barge's runway. The sources added that the crew members also realized the same immediately after the fighter took off.
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