Lockheed Martin awaits approval for delivery of eight F-35 Lightning II fighters

Lockheed Martin has run into trouble with the discovery of a Chinese magnet in its fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II fighter jets.

Here's What We Know

In early fall, the U.S. Department of Defense announced the suspension of deliveries of all F-35 Lightning aircraft. The reason was a Chinese alloy in the pump magnet. The Pentagon reported that the presence of the Chinese component did not pose a threat to U.S. national security, and authorities are looking for ways to solve the problem. Since the magnet does not collect data and does not cause physical damage to the aircraft, the US is not planning to recall the fighters that have already been delivered.

Lockheed Martin has continued production of the F-35, and now it is waiting for the Defense Department to allow deliveries. At the moment, eight fifth-generation fighters have already been prepared for shipment to customers. The manufacturer has been notified that the decision will be made within 1-2 months. But the company's executive vice president is confident that the situation will be resolved before the deadline.

Lockheed Martin is working with its network of subcontractors to figure out how the Chinese alloy got into the supply chain and went undetected for several years. The company has an effective system in place whereby even subcontractors of subcontractors are required to provide certificates of conformity to prove the origin of the parts and materials supplied. But apparently, at some point it failed. At the same time, the manufacturer has no reason to believe that it was done intentionally.

Source: Defense News

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