In the middle of July a news began To “get ball” in the United States and the United Kingdom. A brand new F-35b by Lockheed Martin and belonging to the British Navy was stranded more than a month In India. Since then until now, the almighty American company has happened to the problems: Negative of Spain For the purchase of a lot of fighters, the doubts from other countries And finally, a Second F-35 stranded.
The problem is that there continues, without leaving Japan.
An emergency detour. A F-35B of the United Kingdom, deployed aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales within the framework of the Highmast operation, Continue stranded In Japan after having forced an emergency landing at Kagoshima airport on August 10 due to a technical failure in flight.
The device was transferred to a shooting street and no injuries were reported, although six commercial flights They suffered delays. Engineers of the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force have already inspected it and confirmed that it is waiting for spare parts to be repaired, reviving doubts about the fragility of the global supply chain of the supplies of the supplies of the supply of F-35 programdespite the fact that both the body of American Marines and Japan operate the same model in the region.
A problem history. As we said at the beginning, the episode occurs shortly after another detour, This time in Indiawhere a second F-35b British was stranded for more than a month, and adds to the long list of incidents associated with the furtive plane.
Although the British Ministry of Defense insists that both failures They are not related and that these types of situations are part of the routine of naval operations (where it is often safer to take land in nearby airfields than to try a risky apontaje on the aircraft carrier), the truth is that the coincidence has intensified the Public and political scrutiny About the program. The memory of 2021 accidentwhen an F-35B of the HMS Queen Elizabeth crashed in the Mediterranean for the obstruction of an air intake, it is still weighing on the reputation of the hunt.
The operation and strategic role. The Highmast operation It represents one of the most important deployments of British naval aviation in the Indo-Pacific, with 18 F-35b embarked, from RAF squadrones and Royal Navy, to which at least one device of the US Marines body is added.
The campaign already included maneuvers in Australian waters during the TALISMAN EXERCISE SABREand later joint exercises in Japan and South Korea under the name of Hightower. One of the milestones was the first operation of British fighters from a Japanese ship, the Kagaadapted to receive Stovl aircraft such as the F-35B, a symbolic gesture of the growing naval cooperation in the region against China.
A “of all” hunt. For Lockheed Martin, the story puts them again in the Diana in a month of August complicated where the news has happened with the hunt as the protagonist. The funny thing is that we talk about a combat plane that, being “made in USA”, is actually built under A multinational program. Yes, the F-35 Lightning II is actually the most international combat program in history, with more than 1,900 suppliers spread over a dozen countries.
Conceived since its origin as a multirrol plane for the three branches of the country’s armed forces and for strategic allies, established association levels: The United Kingdom as the only partner of Level 1, Italy and Netherlands at level 2, and Australia, Canada, Denmark and Norway at level 3, to which Japan and Israel are added through special agreements. Most devices are assembled in Fort Worth (Texas), but there are assembly and verification centers in Cameri (Italy) and Nagoya (Japan), with production lines adapted to regional demand.
The European contribution. The United Kingdom is the Major foreign taxpayerresponsible for about 15% of each plane and 10% of development costs. Companies such as Rolls-Royce (manufacturer of the F-35B lifting system) and Martin-Baker (ejectable seat supplier) complement the decisive participation of Bae Systemswhich produces rear fuselages, queues, electronic warfare systems, antennas and much of the mission software.
Italy, through from Leonardonot only manufactures optical components, radios and motor parts, but also hosts the only European final assembly line. The Netherlands, With GKN FokkerThey produce flaperones, braking systems, electrical wiring and manage spare parts for more than 500 European fighters.
The rest. Australia manufactures Vertical lines, actuating systems and more than 700 components in the state of Victoria, with more than 70 local companies involved. Norway provides air-air pylons and vertical edges, while Finland supplies front fuselage sections. Japan assembles its own F-35a in Nagoya and produces some pieces domestically, although it is not clear how many are exported.
Israel, unique case, not only manufactures components valued at more than 2,000 million dollars (such as external wings, fuel deposits and electronic warfare systems), but also The F-35i Adir operatesthe only authorized version to be deeply modified, with plains, weapons and its own communications.
Contractors in the USA. In the United States, Lockheed Martin coordinates and assembles airplanes, but the bulk of the content comes of associated giants. Northrop Grumman produces central fuselage, AN/APG-81 radar and communications systems, with a participation between 20 and 25% per device.
RTX, through Pratt & Whitney, supplies the F135 engines, while Raytheon provides armament and advanced sensors. Other actors such as Honeywell, L3harris or Curtiss-Wright have key papers in specific systems. The great absent is Boeing, whose X-32 lost the contest in front of Lockheed X-35; Today its role is limited to minor work as a subcontractor, while concentrating its efforts in the F/A-18 Super Hornet, the F-15Ex and its F/A-XX future.
Between symbolism and fragility. Back to the case in Japan, that two fifth generation fighters have been out of service during the same cruise does not constitute an operational disaster, but it does feed the Vulnerability perception in a program already controversial for their cost overruns, delays and political questions. In fact, in London the debate goes on The total number of devices that the United Kingdom must acquire.
Meanwhile, each new incident offers Critics ammunition and distract from the diplomatic and military achievements that Highmast intends to exhibit in the Indo-Pacific region. No doubt: the outcome of the second stranded hunt will depend on the speed with which the spare parts to Japan arrive, but the shadow of the doubts about the reliability of the F-35B will continue to accompany the British fleet and LM in its most ambitious prestige campaign in years.
And is that, As we seethe F-35 is not only the combat plane, but an industrial, diplomatic and military framework that connects to North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia in an unprecedented production and maintenance network.
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In Xataka | A British F-35 has been stranded in India. Almost as surreal as the day a hunt landed in a Spanish container
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