The temporary flight suspension on F-35 test aircraft has been lifted, Lockheed Martin spokesman John Kent told the Daily Report Wednesday. Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy F-35 test aircraft were grounded Oct. 1 after officials detected a software anomaly in the fuel boost pumps. That issue could have possibly led to engine stall, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters during a briefing Tuesday. Kent said new software was loaded onto the aircraft over the weekend, enabling AF-1, one of USAF’s F-35A test aircraft, to return to the air Tuesday at Edwards AFB, Calif., successfully flying for an hour and a half. Morrell said the flight pause was not a serious setback. “This is precisely why we have a test program—to try to encounter problems early, fix them, and move on from that,” he said. (Morrell transcript)
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach told lawmakers Apr. 30 that the service’s biggest airlifter, the C-5 Galaxy, has a 37 percent mission capable rate—one of several challenges facing the mobility fleet.