Multibillion-dollar stealth fighter plane is suffocating its pilots: F-35

[The SC]

About a quarter of the F-35 fighter jets made by Lockheed Martin Corp., or 55 planes, have stopped flying until further notice because of irregularities in pilots’ oxygen supplies, US Air Force spokesman Capt. Mark Graff said Monday.

Training flights at Arizona’s Luke Air Force Base, where the 55 jets are based, were canceled Friday and scheduled to resume Monday, but the grounding was extended indefinitely. More than 220 F-35s are flying worldwide.

The grounding comes at a critical time for Lockheed, which plans to demonstrate the advanced jet at the Paris Air Show next week. F-35 air operations at other bases continued, Air Force officials said.

The F-35 business accounts for about 37 percent of Lockheed’s total revenue. During the first quarter, Lockheed’s revenue from its aeronautics business increased 8 percent to $4.11 billion, led by higher sales of the F-35.

Luke Air Force Base, located northwest of Phoenix, is home to the 56th Fighter Wing. The base canceled local flying operations for its F-35A Lightning II aircraft due to five incidents in which pilots experienced symptoms resembling hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation, Graff said Friday at the Pentagon.

The Air Force said the incidents occurred from May 2 to Thursday, and that in each case the aircraft’s backup oxygen system worked as designed and the jets were able to land safely. The base’s F-35A Lightning IIs typically fly 25 training missions each weekday, base officials said.

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The halt in flights at Luke Air Force Base was extended so the Air Force could study the issue with pilots, maintenance workers and medical professionals, said Major Rebecca Heyse, a base spokeswoman.

Luke is the largest F-35 base in the world and trains US pilots as well as those of allied countries.

A Lockheed representative said the company would help the Air Force address the issue. Lockheed and its main partners, Northrop Grumman Corp., United Technologies Corp.’s Pratt & Whitney and BAE Systems Plc, have been developing and building F-35s for the US military and 10 allies.

The 220 F-35s around the world have collectively flown more than 95,000 flight hours, though the plane has not yet seen combat.

http://nypost.com/2017/06/13/multi-billion-dollar-stealth-fighter-plane-is-suffocating-its-pilots/

 

[avrham11]

why saudies dont buy this plane?

 

[deep_blue]

Same was the problem with raptors.
What's wrong with lockheed products??

 

[avrham11]

Same was the problem with raptors.
What's wrong with lockheed products??

they get too much money for develop

 

[The Accountant]

why saudies dont buy this plane?

US is not willing to sell

 

[Fledgingwings]

I heard the same news about F22 once.So whats the catch??? arent both these projects paying off the way they were expected or hoped??? something is definitely not right.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

I heard the same news about F22 once.So whats the catch??? arent both these projects paying off the way they were expected or hoped??? something is definitely not right.

In the F22's case it wasn't the plane it was a valve in the flightsuit.

 

[gambit]

Would you people just let this go ? Your countries must import their defense and here you are laughing at US who are far ahead of anything anyone got.

Have you people seen the F-35 maneuvers at the Paris air show ? The thing maneuvered in ways that once thought possible only with thrust vectoring. Where are the critics of the F-35 'cannot maneuver' now ? I predicted yrs ago on this forum that the F-35 is going embarrass every critic and it is happening. After the Paris air show, the Chinese are sweating for the survival of their jets.

Same was the problem with raptors.
What's wrong with lockheed products??

What is wrong ? More advanced than you can handle.

 

[Beast]

Same was the problem with raptors.
What's wrong with lockheed products??

American quality is dropping everyday. Gone those of the days where American produced quality product.

Now US product is over price and not quality. All thanks to greedy US business man in Congress trying to always maximize profit and Squeeze taxpayers money.

 

[Penguin]

American quality is dropping everyday. Gone those of the days where American produced quality product.

Now US product is over price and not quality. All thanks to greedy US business man in Congress trying to always maximize profit and Squeeze taxpayers money.

Or, when you venture into more unknown territory, you run into more unforeseen difficulties. There is no support provided for the 'greedy US businessman in congress' claim (and in fact, it is often the opposite)

 

[Sine Nomine]

After the Paris air show, the Chinese are sweating for the survival of their jets.

What about T-50.

 

[gambit]

What about T-50.

What about it ? That program is so far behind it might as well be obsolete.

 

[Beast]

What about it ? That program is so far behind it might as well be obsolete.

I agree with your statement.

 

[LeGenD]

This problem is not in the entire fleet. I think a few fighters need fixing only.

 

[dani191]

American quality is dropping everyday. Gone those of the days where American produced quality product.

Now US product is over price and not quality. All thanks to greedy US business man in Congress trying to always maximize profit and Squeeze taxpayers money.

usa import brains 70% of the silicon valley is forigeners they cant import to the defence industry so that what heppend