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Harmonic resonance disabled the F135 engine years before the F-35B crash in Texas

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Harmonic resonance disabled the F135 engine years before the F-35B crash in Texas

In mid-December 2022 in Texas on the runway F-35B Lightning II crashed. The cause was vibration in the F135 engine. As it became known, this was not the first such case.

What is known

In March 2020, during testing, the engine of a fifth-generation F-35 fighter failed due to vibration problems. Pratt & Whitney, a power plant supplier, said it immediately informed the F-35 program office of the matter.


The next day, the F-35 project, along with Pratt & Whitney engineers and representatives of the military services, began a “full systems engineering study” to find the cause of the malfunction. Four months later, the experts concluded that the engines needed to go through additional pre-acceptance procedures.

The problem made itself felt several times, but only an incident that occurred in mid-December 2022 was made public. Then the F-35B fighter at the Lockheed Martin plant in Texas crashed during a vertical landing. The pilot ejected. The company stopped flying, the military grounded their planes, and Pratt & Whitney stopped deliveries of F135 engines.


The cause of the malfunction was harmonic resonance, which disrupts the fuel supply. Pratt & Whitney fixed the problem, but the Pentagon allowed deliveries. At the same time, the ministry requires upgrade all aircraft (more than 900 units). This will take 90 days. In addition, do not forget that the F135 will big upgrade worth several billion dollars. She will leave adaptive engine for 6th generation fighters.

Source: Defense News





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