Engine Crack Grounds F-35 Fleet

By JULIAN E. BARNES Wall Street Journal  February 22, 2013, 6:41 p.m. ET

The Defense Department has grounded its fleet of F-35 fighter jets after a crack was found on an engine turbine blade, Pentagon officials said Friday. The problem comes at a delicate time for the advanced stealth fighter jet, which has been beset by testing problems and cost overruns. The F-35, which has been projected to cost some $400 billion to develop and procure, has been a tempting target for budget cutters—especially under the threat of massive Pentagon spending cuts set to take place next week. The crack was found Tuesday on an F-35 during testing at Edwards Air Force Base in California, and the fleet was grounded on Thursday, according to a defense official and spokesmen for Pratt & Whitney, the engine's manufacturer. The U.S. has dozens of the planes, and has plans to buy more than 2,400. The F-35 program office said it was too early to know if the problem indicated a fleet-wide problem or was confined to the individual test plane. But as a precaution the fleet was grounded, and will remain grounded until at least the end of next week. (more)