The lightning protection system of F-35 needs to be repaired

The production manager of Lockheed Martin stated that by the end of 2020, F-35 fighter jets produced from Lockheed Martin's production line will be equipped with a modified lightning protection system that will fix issues discovered earlier this year. In June of this year, after the US Air Force discovered problems with the onboard inert gas generation system, the government's F-35 Joint Program Office implemented flight restrictions on the F-35A conventional takeoff and landing variant - the model used by the US Air Force and most international customers. OBIGGS allows jet aircraft to fly safely in the presence of lightning by injecting nitrogen rich air into the fuel tank to make it inert and prevent the aircraft from exploding when struck by lightning. However, maintenance personnel at the Ogden Logistics Center at Hill Air Force Base in Utah discovered that a pipe that distributed inert gas to the fuel tank was damaged, increasing the risk that the system may not function as designed. Darren Sekiguchi, Vice President of F-35 Production at Lockheed Corporation, stated in an interview with Defense News on October 5th that although flight restrictions remain in effect, the Department of Defense and Lockheed Corporation have reached an agreement to repair the OBIGGS system. Sekiguchi said that the repair measures mainly include "strengthening some brackets related to these pipes for OBIGG", which will ultimately make the pipes inside the fuel tank more securely fixed in place and prevent movement that may cause damage.

He said, 'The production line has definitely incorporated the changes,' and added that the first aircraft equipped with a modification system will be delivered for use by the end of 2020. Although corrective measures have been taken for the new F-35 fighter jet, the Department of Defense and Lockheed Corporation are still discussing how to best implement repairs to the fighter jets already deployed by the Air Force. Sekiguchi said that the final schedule for aircraft modification will ultimately depend on the availability of services, but 'on-site modifications may take several years'. The ongoing negotiations will also determine whether Lockheed Corporation should bear economic responsibility for this issue.

As of press time, the F-35 Joint Program Office has not responded to requests for comment.

According to current flight restrictions, the F-35A is prohibited from flying within a range of 25 miles from lightning or thunderstorms, which is a typical practice in most flight training.

On May 5th, a memo from the government F-35 project office stated that among the 24 "A" models inspected at the time, 14 models had damaged OBIGGS tubes. Lockheed Martin suspended delivery of the F-35 for three weeks in early June to confirm if the OBIGGS system, manufactured by BAE Systems, was correctly installed. Later that month, F-35 deliveries resumed.

Resolving the OBIGGS issue will take Lockheed one step towards normalizing F-35 production after a year of challenges. On September 19th, the company began to reduce production again due to the pandemic. From May 23rd to September 4th, Lockheed Corporation implemented an adjusted production plan, with 2500 employees on the production line in Fort Worth, Texas working for two weeks before taking a one week break. Executives have stated that this slowdown is necessary due to delays in the global supply chain of the F-35, including over 1900 suppliers. Lockheed Corporation now expects to deliver 121 F-35 fighter jets by the end of 2020, which is 20 fewer than the originally estimated 141 this year. Sekiguchi said that during this summer's economic slowdown, F-35 production climbed to 8 to 10 jet planes per month. Although the goal is to gradually increase to 14 F-35s per month, he pointed out that with the novel coronavirus sweeping the world, some Lockheed suppliers are still facing disruption. He said, "When you reach a critical skill level employee (COVID-19) where there is a greater breakthrough, or when you need to isolate more employees, procrastination becomes a bigger challenge. We have seen this from all aspects, from detailed component suppliers to major assemblies. In the early stages of the influenza pandemic, international suppliers of the F-35, especially those in Europe, encountered the greatest resistance in production as countries were working to control the spread of the virus. Soon after, as the influenza pandemic began to spread in cities and towns across the United States, American suppliers began to struggle with delays. Sekiguchi said, "Now, although it has calmed down slightly, we do see pop-up events in the supply chain that are affecting us globally, " and the company is monitoring signs of a second coronavirus surge. We have seen an upward trend, especially after Labor Day weekend, and various parts of the United States are closely monitoring these situations. What I want to say is that our plan is actually that since we have already passed the initial peak, if we need to implement any of these types of preventive measures, we can take action again