Jerusalem – Israel’s military said on Thursday it was testing its fleet of F-35 fighters after receiving findings from U.S. investigators that a different model of the plane had a fuel systems flaw.
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The military, on Twitter, stopped short of saying the Israeli F-35s had been grounded, describing them as remaining on operational standby.
A Pentagon spokesperson said earlier Thursday that all U.S. and international F-35 fighter jets made by Lockheed Martin Co had been grounded so that fuel tubes can be examined.
Israel’s military said its air force chief “decided to exercise extreme caution” and test all the F-35s, “even though this was not the model used by the Israeli Air Force and that no failures have been found in the planes.”
It said it expected the examination to last a few days, after which the F-35s would return to full operation.
Pentagon spokesperson said that all U.S. and international F-35 fighter jets made by Lockheed Martin Co have been grounded so that fuel tubes can be examined.
The inspection was spurred by initial data from an ongoing investigation of the F-35B, the short takeoff and landing version of the jet, that crashed in the vicinity of Beaufort, South Carolina on Sept. 28.
A person familiar with Lockheed’s delivery pipeline said the company was already flying and testing the jets slated for near-term delivery.
Lockheed is slated to deliver 91 jets this year.
Do they get compensation?