The Marine Corps variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) has been cleared to resume flying following the resolution of a problem with fueldraulic hoses that were behind the grounding of the airplanes last month.
The Pentagon’s JSF program office said yesterday that flight clearance for the F-35B was restored Tuesday, saying all of the hoses have been inspected and problematic ones are being replaced.
The grounding affected all of the 25 F-35Bs, the short-take off and vertical landing (STOVL) version of the aircraft. Some of the hoses critical for the actuator movement as part of the STOVL capability were found to have not been properly crimped.
“The F-35B fleet of 25 aircraft have been cleared for return to flight upon re-installation of compliant hoses by air worthiness authorities at Naval Air Systems Command and the F-35 Program Office,” said Joe DellaVedova, a spokesman for the JSF office.
The grounding was ordered Jan. 18, two days after an F-35B experienced a fueldraulic line failure while initiating a conventional takeoff roll (Defense Daily, Jan. 23, 2013). The pilot aborted the takeoff. The flight suspension did not affect the affect the Air Force’s F-35A or Navy’s F-35C.
Lockheed Martin [LMT] is the prime contractor for the JSF. Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of United Technologies [UTX] along with partner Rolls-Royce, provide the propulsion systems for the F-35Bs. The fueldraulic lines are supplied by Stratoflex, a division of Parker Hannifin [PH].