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posted by martyb on Monday June 12 2017, @08:42PM   Printer-friendly
from the Zoom!-Zoom!-Boom! dept.

The US Air Force's 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona today cancelled "local flying operations" for F-35A fighters after five incidents in which pilots "experienced hypoxia-like symptoms," an Air Force spokesperson said in a statement. Hypoxia is a deficiency in oxygen reaching the body through the circulatory system.

"In order to synchronize operations and maintenance efforts toward safe flying operations we have cancelled local F-35A flying," said 56th Fighter Wing commander Brigadier General Brook Leonard. "The Air Force takes these physiological incidents seriously, and our focus is on the safety and well-being of our pilots. We are taking the necessary steps to find the root cause of these incidents."

The cancellation of F-35A operations is currently restricted to Luke Air Force Base, the primary pilot training base for the F-35A. The Air Force also trains F-35A pilots at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. The 56th Fighter Wing's squadrons at Luke train pilots from the US Air Force as well as from other nations buying the F-35A, including Norway, Italy, and Australia. All the pilots training at Luke will be briefed on the incidents and on the procedures the pilots affected used to successfully restore oxygen and land the aircraft safely, a 56th Fighter Wing spokesperson said. The 56th's Air Operations Group will also hold a forum with pilots to discuss their concerns.

Source: ArsTechnica

According to Wikipedia:

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole fighters. The fifth-generation combat aircraft is designed to perform ground attack and air defense missions. It has three main models: the F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant, the F-35B short take-off and vertical-landing (STOVL) variant, and the F-35C carrier-based Catapult Assisted Take-Off Barrier Arrested Recovery (CATOBAR) variant. On 31 July 2015, the United States Marines declared ready for deployment the first squadron of F-35B fighters after intensive testing. On 2 August 2016, the U.S. Air Force declared its first squadron of F-35A fighters combat-ready.

The F-35 development program has been plagued with cost overruns and delays. Current estimated costs per unit vary from $95m for the F35-A to $120m for the F35-B and F35-C.


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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Thexalon on Monday June 12 2017, @09:56PM (3 children)

    by Thexalon (636) on Monday June 12 2017, @09:56PM (#524682)

    Yeah, but on the upside, the ridiculous cost ensures that the US government will continue to transfer ungodly sums of money from the public treasury to Lockheed Martin and its subsidiaries. And that was the whole point of the exercise.

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  • (Score: 2) by VLM on Tuesday June 13 2017, @12:41AM (1 child)

    by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday June 13 2017, @12:41AM (#524742)

    100 $100M planes or 1000 $10M planes the profits the same but pilot survival is higher in the latter.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday June 13 2017, @02:39AM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday June 13 2017, @02:39AM (#524766) Journal

      Your math is a little bit to simple. You have to factor in *WHO* gets the money, and how much they get. The F35 has it's very own system of graft and corruption, and going back to the older, more proven aircraft would have cut some important people out of the loop. It's easy to hide a lot of money laundering in a newer program, where you can claim research and development. It's a lot tougher to launder money in an older, established system where everyone has a very good idea what the real costs are.

  • (Score: 2) by driverless on Tuesday June 13 2017, @05:12AM

    by driverless (4770) on Tuesday June 13 2017, @05:12AM (#524793)

    Yep, and that's why all military procurement is done in two phases, "it's too early to tell" and "it's too late to stop".