Image source: topwar.ru
As it became known to the American edition of Defense News, back in March 2020, that is, three years before the story of the failure of the engine of the F-35 fighter aircraft in Texas, the engine of this type of aircraft failed before pre-sale tests.
The next day, experts from the American company Pratt & Whitney, which produces these types of engines, and the military services began a full engineering survey of the aircraft to find the root cause of the engine problem. The investigation of all the circumstances of the incident took four months.
After that, the specialists decided that the aircraft engines needed additional acceptance procedures, since each engine must be carefully checked. As it turned out, the engine had problems with vibration, which forced experts to pay attention to the technical condition of the new aircraft.
However, on December 15, 2022, that is, almost three years after the story with the identification of an engine problem, the F-35B plane crashed. After it, the Pentagon was forced to stop the supply of new F-35 engines and temporarily suspend the production of new aircraft.
Pratt & Whitney said that the aircraft engines after the December accident passed the necessary testing, verification and mitigation procedures. However, various accidents with aircraft continued, which did not prevent the resumption of aircraft deliveries on March 14. At the same time, Pratt & Whitney does not comment to the American press on possible financial liability in connection with problems with vibration of aircraft engines.
The position of the US Department of Defense, in turn, is to upgrade aircraft engines for more power and more cooling. The military department considered the engine from General Electric Aviation, but rejected it as too expensive compared to the engine from Pratt & Whitney.