Grounded No More: Inspected US F-35 Stealth Fighters Free to Fly

Earlier this week, the United States temporarily suspended all F-35 operations worldwide after the first-ever crash of the advanced F-35 Lightning II fighter jet in September.
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On Sunday, most grounded F-35 fighter jets in the US and beyond were given the green light for flight, the aircraft's manufacturer Lockheed Martin said.

The manufacturer added that the US-made stealth planes returned to the skies after their engines were meticulously inspected, with some of the warplanes assigned for a fuel pipe replacement.

READ MORE: Danish Defense Ministry Grilled Over Hushing Up F-35 Noise Levels

Earlier this week, Israel, Australia and Britain announced that they had decided to ground all of their fight-generation F-35 fighter jets.

The move came after the Pentagon's F-35 Lightning II Program said in a statement that the US temporarily grounded all F-35 operations worldwide after the first-ever crash of the sophisticated fighter jet led investigators to suspect that a common problem exists with the jet's fuel tubes.

The Defense Department, for its part, noted that any faulty fuel tubes installed on the F-35 jets will be removed and replaced, but if inspection reveals that good fuel tubes are already installed, then those aircraft will be returned to flight status.

READ MORE: After Years of Setbacks, Lockheed Martin Delivers 300th F-35 to US Military

On September 28, a Marine F-35B crashed in South Carolina due to technical failure in a jet engine fuel pipe, according to investigators.

F-35 Program Officials Covering Up Life-Threatening Flaws in Aircraft - Report
In September 2016, the US Air Force (USAF) ordered the grounding of 15 F-35A jets after the discovery of "peeling and crumbling" coolant tube insulation installed in the wings of the jet.

The F-35's operating coasts remain a major headache for the USAF and European customers.  According to the latest Pentagon acquisition report, the cost per hour of operating the F-35 averages $30,000 compared to $25,500 per hour for the older F-16.

While the initial cost of the F-35s was about $132 million, some estimates put the actual price tag at a whopping $198 million each.

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