More Than 80 Percent Of US F-35s Resume Flights After Inspections - Pentagon

More than 80 percent of US F-35s have been cleared to fly again after a fuel tube problem forced the United States to temporarily ground its entire fleet of the advanced fighter jets, the F-35 Joint Program Office said in a statement on Monday.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th October, 2018) More than 80 percent of US F-35s have been cleared to fly again after a fuel tube problem forced the United States to temporarily ground its entire fleet of the advanced fighter jets, the F-35 Joint Program Office said in a statement on Monday.

"After completing inspections, more than 80 percent of operational F-35s of operational F-35s have been cleared and returned to flight operations. All US services and international partners have resumed flying with their cleared aircraft," the statement said.

The Pentagon on Thursday temporarily grounded all F-35 operations worldwide after a faulty fuel tube was discovered to be the cause of the first-ever total crash of the aircraft in the US state of South Carolina on September 28.

The pentagon's current inventory will allow it to quickly restore about half of the aircraft that remain grounded, the statement said, adding that the rest of the jets would be cleared for flight as they are repaired over the coming weeks. Producer Pratt & Whitney is rapidly procuring more parts to minimize the overall repair time, it said.

The fuel tube problem is not expected to affect future deliveries of the F-35 aircraft, and the program remains on track to meet its target of producing 91 jets this year, the statement added.