Hundreds of F-35s are grounded

Hundreds of F-35s are grounded and not being used

• The United States Navy announced on Tuesday that it would be temporarily grounding a number of aircraft because of issues with the ejection seats made by Martin-Baker.
• Due to the Martin-Baker flaw, the Air Combat Command (ACC) announced on Friday that it would be grounding its entire fleet of F-35A Lightning II fighter jets.
• The United States Air Force has determined that there are a total of 279 T-38 and T-6 aircraft that are impacted by this issue and has issued a stand-down order for those aircraft, which indicates that they will not fly again until the ejection seats have been deemed safe.
• According to Major General Craig Wills, who is in charge of the 19th Air Force, the stand-down is required because it is the only way to guarantee the students' and instructors' safety.
• According to Martin-Baker spokeswoman Emma Sutcliffe, the company has not yet issued a statement regarding the parts issue.

Hundreds of F-35s aren’t flying because of Over Ejection-Seat Worries

The United States military has been forced to stop flying hundreds of F-35 stealth fighter planes due to budget cuts and other issues, but the question remains: why?

If you're reading this and thinking, "Oh no, they can't do that," then you're wrong. These airplanes each have a price tag of approximately one billion dollars. As a result of a faulty component in their ejection seats, the United States Air Force and the United States Navy have had to ground hundreds of aircraft because of a significant risk to pilot safety in the event that they are suddenly required to eject from the aircraft. Why should we treat this as such a critical threat to our safety?

On Tuesday, the problem was made public for the first time when the Navy announced that it would be temporarily grounding several F/A-18 Hornets, F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, and EA-18G Growlers, as well as the T-45 Goshawk and the F-5 Tiger II trainers. The Navy stated in a statement that there are certain flight angles that can cause an excessive amount of force to be exerted on the pilot's chest and neck by their ejection seat.

The United States Navy announced on Tuesday that it would be temporarily grounding a number of aircraft because of issues with the ejection seats made by Martin-Baker. Martin-Baker is a company with headquarters in the United Kingdom that specializes in producing ejection equipment for both domestic and international aircraft. A contract worth 8.7 million dollars has been awarded to Martin-Baker Aircraft Co., Ltd. for the production of 581 explosive cartridge kits and 1,116 explosive cartridges that will be used in the Martin-Baker US16E ejection seat.

The Air Force has grounded almost 200 of its entire fleet as part of a safety review

The problem was identified by Martin-Baker as occurring with its cartridge-actuated devices, which are explosive components used to launch an ejection seat out of the cockpit. The company claims that particular models of those devices are defective and need to be replaced because they do not function as intended. Although Martin-Baker manufactures the ejection seats known as the K-7 and T-10D, which can be found in a variety of aircraft used by the Navy, the problem is also affecting the Air Force.

In response to the first ever ejection from the F-35 Lightning II on June 23, the United States Air Force has temporarily grounded almost 200 of its F-35 Lightning II aircraft as part of a fleet-wide safety review.

Due to the Martin-Baker flaw, the Air Combat Command (ACC) announced on Friday that it would be grounding its entire fleet of F-35A Lightning II fighter jets. The statement was provided to Military.com. On July 19, it started a check of all the components in its aircraft that would last for the next three months.

According to a statement released by the Air Force, "out of an abundance of caution, ACC units will execute a stand-down on July 29 in order to expedite the inspection process." The information obtained from those inspections will be taken into consideration when the ACC makes its decision regarding whether or not to resume operations.

Two days earlier, the issue with the ejection seats that were installed on the T-38 Talon and T-6 Texan II training planes was brought to the attention of the Air Education and Training Command of the 19th Air Force. Additionally, Martin-Baker manufactures the ejection systems that are used in these aircraft.

Ejection Seat Troubleshoot

The Air Education and Training Command has issued a stand-down order for 279 T-38 and T-6 aircraft

The United States Air Force has determined that there are a total of 279 T-38 and T-6 aircraft that are impacted by this issue and has issued a stand-down order for those aircraft, which indicates that they will not fly again until the ejection seats have been deemed safe.

According to a statement released by the Air Education and Training Command, "out of an abundance of caution, the 19th Air Force directed that T-38 and T-6 operations be suspended on July 27 while our maintenance and logistics teams further investigate the issue." Through collaboration with the aircraft manufacturer, the Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) was able to determine the specific lot numbers of products that need to be inspected and further establish which aircraft are at risk of being impacted.

According to Major General Craig Wills, who is in charge of the 19th Air Force, the stand-down is required because it is the only way to guarantee the students' and instructors' safety.

Wills explained that the actions that they took that day were carried out with the utmost caution in order to protect the safety of their pilots and aircrew. "Until we are certain that the affected aircraft's emergency exit systems are in proper working order, we will not put those aircraft back into service,"

Since 1st Lt. David Schmitz, an F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot serving with the 77th Fighter Squadron based at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, passed away in the year 2020, the focus of Congress has been on issues pertaining to ejection seats. Investigations conducted after his passing revealed that a malfunction in his ejection seat was partially to blame for his death.

According to JV Venable, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a former Air Force pilot with 25 years of experience, faulty ejection seat cartridges are just the most recent example of long-standing issues related to the military's aging equipment and lack of maintenance preparation. The Heritage Foundation is a conservative think tank.

In an interview, Venable stated that this is just one of many readiness issues that the military is dealing with at the moment. "This is just one of many," "With these ejection seats, you can see the effect that has," the speaker said.

According to Martin-Baker spokeswoman Emma Sutcliffe, the company has not yet issued a statement regarding the parts issue. 

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