Lockheed F-35 Fighter Has ‘Design Flaw’ in Wing Part, Pentagon Tester Says

Two of three models of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 jet have a “design flaw” that reduces the expected life of a wing structure to 1,200 hours, which is “significantly less than” the expected 8,000 hours, according to the U.S. Defense Department’s testing office.

The “defective” aluminum beam was detected in November on Air Force and Marine Corps test aircraft after an unrelated bulkhead crack surfaced in the Marine Corps model, the office said. The Air Force plans to buy 1,763 of the 2,443 total in the $382 billion U.S. program, the Marines 371.

The flawed part is the forward root rib, an aluminum beam at the forward-inboard corner of the wing that supports a fuselage fairing panel on the Joint Strike Fighter’s leading edge flap, according to Lockheed.

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