No F-35A aircraft of the US Air Force's 388th Fighter Aviation Regiment is experiencing problems with the F135 engine

The problem of so-called "harmonic resonance", which blocks the fuel supply to the F135 engine, has bypassed all F-35A Lightning II aircraft of the 388th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the US Air Force. This was announced by Colonel Craig Andrle.

Here's What We Know

The military has revealed that F-35A fighters assigned to the 34th Fighter Squadron are heading to Europe in the first half of 2022. At the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the planes were gathering information about Russian air defence systems. You can read more about this in a separate article.

Craig Andrle, speaking to journalists at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, noted that the 388th Fighter Aviation Regiment plans to upgrade all F135 engines. The reason is the "harmonic resonance" that caused the F-35B Lightning II crashed on the runway in Texas while practicing a vertical landing in December 2022.

It was recently revealed that the problem has been found in several F135 engines since 2020. Although the malfunction has bypassed all aircraft of the 388th Fighter Aviation Regiment, the US Department of Defence Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney will upgrade more than 900 F-35 fighters worldwide within 90 days. This also applies to aircraft that have been supplied to the Allies.

In addition, the 388th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the US Air Force intends to receive upgraded F-35A Block 4 aircraft. The upgrade will allow them to carry modern cruise missiles, rather than being limited to launching AIM-120 ARMAAMs and small bombs.

But it has recently been revealed that the Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) upgrade will be released a year later than expected. It is a vital step towards upgrading Block 4. The F-35 TR-3 will be tested in January 2023.

Source: Military Times