“God mode”, for those who aren’t gamers, is a mode of operation (or cheat) built into some types of games based around shooting things. In God mode you are invulnerable to damage and you never run out of ammunition.
An F-35B Lightning II aircraft assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 262 (Reinforced) launches from amphibious assault carrier USS Tripoli (LHA 7), Aug. 24, 2022. US Navy Photo
The Pentagon has stopped taking deliveries of the F135 engine for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters following an F-35B mishap last month in Texas.
The halt to deliveries started last week and comes as Naval Air Systems Command investigates the mishap, in which an F-35B crashed on the runaway in Forth Worth, Texas, at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base.
“Currently, acceptance of new engines has been suspended. That pause began Tuesday, Dec. 27. The length of the pause is currently to be determined, and it is hard to say how long it will last given the current investigation of what specifically would allow deliveries to resume. The root cause analysis and accident investigation need to be completed first,” the F-35 Joint Program Office said in a statement.
In a statement, Pratt & Whitney, which builds the F135 engine, said it’s coordinating with the JPO on deliveries and the probe into the mishap.
“There has been no formal suspension of F135 deliveries and we are working closely with the Joint Program Office on all aspects of the on-going investigation and timing of deliveries. The F135 has more than 600,000 flight hours. Safety for the warfighter is and will continue to be our number one priority,” said Jen Latka, the company’s vice president for F135 engines.
In an updated statement, the JPO said it reached an understanding with Pratt & Whitney to postpone the deliveries.
”The F-35 Joint Program Office and Pratt & Whitney have agreed to delay scheduled delivery and acceptance [DD250] of F135 engines until further information from the investigation is known and safety of flight can be ensured,” the JPO said in the updated statement.
Last week, Lockheed Martin reached a $30 billion deal with the Pentagon for as many as 398 F-35 jets. The deal is for Lots 15 and 16, with the potential for Lot 17.
“The agreement includes 145 aircraft for Lot 15, 127 for Lot 16, and up to 126 for the Lot 17 contract option, including the first F-35 aircraft for Belgium, Finland and Poland,” Lockheed said in a Dec. 30 news release.
In the company release, Lockheed noted it had to halt flight operations and therefore did not deliver the 148 jets it was under contract to deliver to the Defense Department this year.
“The F-35 team was on track to meet the commitment of 148 aircraft as planned; however, due to a temporary pause in flight operations, which is still in effect, necessary acceptance flight tests could not be performed,” Lockheed said in the release.
The halt to flight operations followed the Dec. 15 F-35B incident, in which the short take-off and vertical landing aircraft crashed on the runway. The pilot safely ejected. That F-35 had not yet been transferred to the government, USNI News previously reported.
F-35 crash-lands in Fort Worth, TX – pilot ejected ???????? #aviation pic.twitter.com/Ov7qXf0xad
— Houston Air Watch (@houstonairw) December 15, 2022
Meanwhile, in December, the nose of a U.S. Marine Corps F-35B hit the ground as it was getting towed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, Marine Corps Times reported.
This article was republished from the U.S. Naval Institute under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Mallory Shelbourne
Mallory Shelbourne is a reporter for USNI News. She previously covered the Navy for Inside Defense and reported on politics for The Hill. Follow @MalShelbourne
Related Articles
Understanding the building blocks for Australia’s quantum future
Australia is undergoing an exciting period of strategic technology policy review and development. The release of its first National Quantum Strategy this week committed the government to building the world’s first error-corrected quantum computer. This is a strategically important technology that has the potential to improve productivity and supply chain efficiency in diverse industries, lower costs across the economy, help reduce carbon emissions and improve public transportation.
Japan needs stronger deterrence than its new defense strategy signals
Since World War II, Japan had long chosen not to possess long-range strike capabilities that could be used against enemy bases. But the Japanese government changed course in December 2022 when it adopted the new national defense strategy (NDS), which included a commitment to acquiring a so-called counterstrike capability. But in order for this new strategy to contribute to deterrence and alter the nation’s defensive role as the ‘shield’ in its alliance with the United States, Tokyo needs to go further than what the NDS outlines.