The Pentagon testers discovered cracks in a major structural element of the F-35C's wing. Lockheed Martin is working to find a solution. The note was just branched off from Joint Program Office F-35.
"During an inspection, which occurred at the end of last October on an F-35C, a crack was found in one of the 13 wing spars."
To solve the problem, according to a first solution developed by Lockheed, it may be necessary to strengthen the wing structure. The increase in wing strength will result in an increase in weight, estimated in 500 / 600 extra grams. These changes will then be integrated into the serial production so as to guarantee the full functioning of the cell.
According to the Pentagon, the problem "should not" influence flight operations for the embarked variant, nor will it delay the flight Initial Operational Capacity scheduled for August of the 2018. To date, however, we do not know the cost of the operation and how much it will affect the final price of the fighter. The crack occurred on a F-35C test that has already accumulated more than 13.700 test hours, which equals 6.850 flight hours or more than 20 years of operational flight.
The spokesman of the Pentagon office responsible for the F-35 program, Joe Dellavedova, appears serene: "All F-35Cs built to date have less than 250 flight hours. We intentionally bring the aircraft beyond its structural limits, applying cyclic loads to the cell to simulate the operational flight in order to identify the weak points and the possible corrective actions ".
(photo: Lockheed Martin)
