Cracks found in F-35B test model

Cracks were found in the fuselage of a test model of the F-35B, the Marine Corps variant of the joint strike fighter, Defense News has learned.

The discovery will have no impact on flights occurring on any of the three F-35 variants, but will require that the test model be shut down for two to four months while inspectors look at the issue.

“During a late August 2013 inspection of the F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) ground article used for durability testing, two minor cracks were identified in one of the ground article’s four primary wing carry-through bulkheads,” Kyra Hawn, an F-35 program spokeswoman, said in an Oct. 10 statement.

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