Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney will upgrade more than 900 F-35 fighters worldwide within 90 days

Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney are to upgrade the F-35 Lightning II fifth-generation fighter jets within three months. It is part of an effort to fix an engine problem that halted deliveries of the aircraft nearly three months ago.

Here's What We Know

During one of the test flights of the F-35B in Texas, there was a vibration in the engine. The pilot ejected and the fighter plane, which was coming in for a vertical landing, crashed onto the runway.

In February Pratt & Whitney announced that it had managed to find and eliminate the cause of the harmonic resonance that could cause the propulsion system to collapse. The United States Department of Defense has ordered engine upgrades in all F-35 Lightning II fighters around the world, even though most planes are immune to the defect.

The Pentagon wants all fighters to have an identical configuration. The upgrade process takes hours. Pratt & Whitney vice president Jen Latka, said the company will deliver F135 engines already "fixed".

In total, Lockheed Martin has delivered more than 890 aircraft to customers. In addition, as of February 2023, the company has produced another 17 aircraft, which are awaiting testing before delivery.

Source: Defense News