Posted on 07/16/2021 11:52:48 AM PDT by Red Badger
Dozens of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters are down for engine repairs, top military officials disclosed Tuesday, as the services grapple with an engine shortage that has afflicted the Pentagon for more than a year.
Testifying before the House Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces, Air Force Lt. Gen. Eric Fick, who runs the F-35 program, disclosed that his service has been the hardest hit by the shortage.
As of July 8, the Air Force had 41 aircraft in what's known as "Mission Impaired Capability Awaiting Parts," or MICAP, status, for engines. That means the planes can't be used on missions until they're fixed. The service accepted its 283th F-35 in May.
Fick said there are five other F-35s waiting for the repairs.
"I have three partner aircraft, I have one Marine Corps aircraft, and I have one U.S. Navy tail that are MICAP for an engine," he said during the hearing.
Some of those 46 aircraft are awaiting miscellaneous spare parts or are in need of upgraded F135 engine power modules, a component that improves the aircraft's thrust and performance, Fick said.
"We are also working closely with our industry and the Joint Strike Fighter organic engine heavy maintenance facility at Tinker Air Force Base [Oklahoma] on the depot repair recovery efforts," added Jay Stefany, acting assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition. Tinker is home to the Oklahoma City-Air Logistics Complex, which oversees the repair work.
Those efforts include reducing the time jets sit in depot by adding more maintainer shifts to expedite the power module replacement, he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
The active-duty 388th and Reserve 419th Fighter Wings conducts an F-35A Combat Power Exercise at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Jan. 6, 2020. (U.S. Air Force photo/R. Nial Bradshaw)
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Yeah, but... the Air Force is WOKE!
This kind of information should not be public. I served 24 years in Army aviation, many years involved with maintenance. Aircraft status is monitored and reported 24 hours a day. We don’t need our enemies knowing our FMC rates (Fully Mission Capable).
They accepted their “283th” plane?
That’s right after their 281th plane.
Why the shortage in engines?? Were factories closed or on limited production because of the pandemic? Are workers refusing to work because of the stimulus checks?? Whatever the cause, this is an unnecessary security risk. Fix it! Now!
The planes are down while they get re-gendered and racist legacy systems are removed.
they need to restart the f22 lines is what really needs to be done
and then triple the lines
Biden’s problem. Where are the spare, Joe?
You know things are bad when you read something like this and the first thought that comes to mind is “what difference does it make” .
In China.......................
The reason you have the F-35 is that it is cheaper. The reason it is cheaper is because Congress wouldn’t buy enough of the planned F-22 fleet while refusing to allow it to be exported. The F-35 program was designed to be a multi-national partnership which guarantees a large number of airframes.
They're down because of a heat protective coating on the fan blades of the F135 engine that is wearing off prematurely, requiring recoating, which means major disassembly of the engines.
This is a Pratt & Whitney problem, not a Lockheed Martin problem.
thanks i dont need an explanation
F-22s?
All part of the Democrat plan.
The F-35 identifies as a Fokker Tri plane.
The planes are down while they get re-gendered and racist legacy systems are removed.
You mean like the ‘cockpits’?
Truth be told, with the exception of its outstanding acrobatic demonstrations, the F-22 is a dog that the Air Force wants to retire and replace with a new design.
The F-22 doesn't have a helmet mounted cueing system to lock onto targets that aren't directly in front of the aircraft, its computer system is painfully outdated and cannot communicate target information with the rest of the Air Force fleet, its stealth coating is outrageously expensive to maintain, and its oxygen system likes to suffocate its pilots.
The F-22 isn't all it's cracked up to be.
What about the maintenance on F-15s and nukes?
Is this the window for MAGA’s to strike?
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