F-35A Lightning IIs assigned to the 308th Fighter Squadron, Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., taxi on the flight line at Tyndall AFB, Fla., Jan. 27, 2022. (U.S. Air Force/Anabel Del Valle)
Updated 07/29/22 at 11:47 am ET with more information from the Air Force.
WASHINGTON: The Air Force is grounding most of its operational fleet of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters today because of a faulty component inside its ejection seat that could prevent the pilot from ejecting from the ‘plane safely during an emergency, Breaking Defense. has learned
In response to a query, Air Combat Command spokeswoman Alexi Worley confirmed the temporary grounding of ACC-controlled F-35s.
“ACC’s F-35s have Martin-Baker ejection seats and a Time Compliance Technical Directive was initiated on July 19 to inspect all ejection seat cartridges within 90 days,” he said. to say. “Out of an abundance of caution, ACC units will execute a shutdown on July 29 to expedite the inspection process. Based on the data gathered from these inspections, ACC will decide to resume operations.”
Although the ACC controls the majority of the USAF’s F-35s, a smaller number of aircraft are distributed among other major commands, including United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), Pacific Air Forces ( PACAF) and the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). . It was not immediately clear whether those units would also ground their fifth-generation fighters for a security check.
At issue are cartridge-actuated devices—explosive cartridges used inside ejection seats to help propel an airplane seat during an emergency. According to the Air Force, certain production lots of CAD used in Martin-Baker ejection seats have been identified by the company as defective and in need of replacement.
“Since CADs are used in the ejection process, a faulty CAD may not allow all the necessary functions to be performed that would allow for a complete and safe ejection,” said Michael Cisek, senior partner at consulting firm d ‘aviation AeroDynamic Advisory, in Breaking Defense. Wednesday. “Even though airplanes can fly, I don’t think too many pilots are willing to fly knowing they might not be able to fly it. [to] kick out.”
This latest news comes days after the Air Force’s Air Education and Training Command said it had grounded nearly 300 training aircraft temporarily because of the CAD supply problem, and the Navy separately acknowledged that it had grounded an unspecified number of his own trainers and fighters. airplanes
Breaking Defense first reported the Navy landings Wednesday and Air Force Times reported for the first time the Air Force burial on Thursday.
The problems have left the US Navy and Air Force struggling to understand the extent of the problem, which has also affected the UK’s Eurofighter Typhoons and Red Arrow demonstration team, according to the Daily Express.
The Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division (NSWC IHD) supplies CAD and thruster-driven devices for the entire joint force, including aircraft of the Army, Air Force, Navy and the Marine Corps.
According to the Naval Air Systems Command, Martin-Baker notified the Navy of a potential defect and began using “validated radiography procedures” to scan its available CAD inventory and verify that it was “properly manufactured.” NSWC IHD began shipping approved replacement parts on July 24 “to various fleet maintenance centers,” the NAVAIR press release stated.
A Navy spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the Navy’s F-35s are affected by the shutdown.
A temporary shutdown of Air Force trainers
The Air Force initiated a recall on July 27 so maintainers could inspect 203 T-38 and 76 T-6 aircraft suspected of being equipped with the faulty CAD, Air Force spokeswoman Aryn Lockhart said in a statement . This figure represents 40 percent of AETC’s T-38 fleet and 15 percent of its T-6 fleet, including trainers at the Air Force Base and Naval Air Station Pensacola.
Once maintainers confirm the ejection seats are fully functional, those specific aircraft will return to service, and flight operations for unaffected aircraft are expected to resume on July 28, Lockhart said.
However, Maj. Gen. Craig Wills, commander of the 19th Air Force, stressed that the planes will not begin flying unless the service is “confident” that their ejection seats are in good working order.
“Our primary concern is the safety of our Airmen and it is imperative that they have confidence in our team,” he said in a statement. “Our actions today were taken out of an abundance of caution to ensure the safety of our pilots and crew.”
Although Air Combat Command also operates T-38s, it flies the A and B models that do not have Martin-Baker ejection seats. Therefore, they are not affected by the downsizing, Worley said.
An unknown number of Navy aircraft affected
On Wednesday, a Naval Air Systems Command spokeswoman said the service “has made the decision to ground some fixed-wing aircraft due to a production issue with the ejection seat cartridge actuated device (CAD )”.
The spokeswoman declined to comment on how many aircraft were ultimately affected by the problem for “operational security” reasons, but the initial press release on the matter said the faulty CAD was isolated to a “limited range of batch numbers ” used in F/A. -18B/C/D Hornets, F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, E/A-18G Growlers and T-45 Goshawk and F-5 Tiger II trainer aircraft.
In light of the Air Force’s public disclosure of the number of T-38 and T-6 aircraft that were grounded, Breaking Defense asked the Navy for more information on the number of aircraft it grounded. A spokeswoman for the service again declined to provide any specific information, saying the Air Force disclosed numbers of training aircraft, rather than operational or forward-deployed ones.
“Disclosing the total number of aircraft (with or without specifying the type/model/series) poses an OPSEC risk,” the spokeswoman told Breaking Defense on Thursday. “At any given time, we will have an undisclosed number of aircraft in service, but stating the total number of aircraft affected by this issue alerts our adversaries to the limitations in our ability to respond in the event of need.”
While the Hornets, Super Hornets and Growlers remain operational in deployed squadrons, the T-45s are primarily used to train Navy pilots. Meanwhile, the service bought nearly two dozen F-5s in fiscal year 2020 to “provide air-to-air training for advanced strike fighter and electronic warfare readiness programs, large force exercises, training at the ‘fleet replacement squadron unit and training’, according to reports. budget supporting documents.
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