Engineers and technicians working the F-15 problem at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center believe variations in thickness of splice joints added to stress on the longerons, leading to cracking, reports Gene Rector of The Telegraph. ALC officials say cracks have been found on both the left and right upper cockpit longerons of eight aircraft. Other possible factors include variations in width down the joint and changes in the canopy sill. They still haven’t ruled out a manufacturing discrepancy, but the eight aircraft are from different production runs. Maintainers must check thickness “at about 90 different locations” on each aircraft, in addition to checking for cracking over about 30 inches of the longeron, according to Col. Stephen Niemantsverdriet, commander of the WRALC’s 880th Sustainment Group.
Lockheed Martin projects more than a billion dollars of losses on a classified program, but company officials said April 23 they are confident it will turn profitable by 2028 and become a "franchise" system in the U.S. military.