Lockheed Martin and the F-35 joint program office have developed a solution to the insulation problem that temporarily grounded 15 F-35A aircraft in September, according to a joint program office statement. The repairs are focused on “non-compliant Polyalphaolefin coolant tubes,” which were deteriorating and leaving debris in the fuel lines and fuel tank. The repair takes about three weeks to complete, the statement said, and is being performed on 42 in-production aircraft in addition to the 15 that were grounded. The grounded aircraft will return to flight, and the new aircraft will be delivered, by the end of the year, according to Lockheed Martin. Included among the new F-35As are the first deliveries to Israel and Japan. “This was not a technical or design issue, “ the statement said, “it was a supply chain manufacturing issue.” (See also Jets May Fly With F-35 Fuel Issue.)
United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan Centaur rocket is slated to fly its second national security mission in February—nearly six months after its first operational launch and almost a year after it was certified to fly military payloads for the Space Force.
