By Doug Cameron
Pratt & Whitney plans this month to start testing a
potential fix to the engine problem that caused a Lockheed Martin
Corp. F-35 fighter jet to catch fire in June.
Investigators have yet to pin down the cause of the accident,
which led to the temporary grounding of the entire F-35 fleet, with
flying restrictions still in place that threaten to trigger another
delay in the plane's planned entry into combat service next
year.
Pratt & Whitney is the sole supplier of the F-35 engine, and
before the fire had come under pressure from the Pentagon to
improve its execution on the program after a series of cost
overruns and performance issues.
"We have a potential fix that we believe will eliminate the
problem, and we will conduct engine and rig tests this month to
verify that with the Services and the [F-35] Joint Program Office,"
said a spokesman for Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United
Technologies Corp.
Safety investigators have reviewed the fire, saying that
excessive friction occurred among blades and other internal parts
of an engine. When one of the blades failed, it sparked the
fire.
The Pentagon's acquisition chief said earlier Wednesday that
investigators are close to identifying the cause of the June 23
fire that hit a jet on the ground at Eglin Air Force Base in
Florida
"I am getting, over time, more confident that we've got our arms
around that problem and are solving it," said Frank Kendall, U.S.
undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and
logistics, on the sidelines of an industry conference.
Mr. Kendall said the cost of the proposed fix would be
minor.
Identifying the problem is taking longer than expected. Lockheed
Chief Financial Officer Bruce Tanner in late July said
investigators were close to finding the cause.
Write to Doug Cameron at doug.cameron@wsj.com
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