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F-35 jet deliveries can resume following waiver for Chinese-origin alloy, Pentagon says

Published 10/08/2022, 02:23 PM
Updated 10/08/2022, 02:30 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft is seen at the ILA Air Show in Berlin, Germany, April 25, 2018.    REUTERS/Axel Schmidt/File Photo/File Photo/File Photo

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft is seen at the ILA Air Show in Berlin, Germany, April 25, 2018. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt/File Photo/File Photo/File Photo

By Mike Stone

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Deliveries can resume for Lockheed Martin Corp (NYSE:LMT)'s F-35 jet under a waiver allowing Chinese-origin alloy to go into an engine part, the Pentagon said on Saturday.

In September the Pentagon stopped accepting new F-35 jets after it discovered a magnet in the stealthy fighter's engine was made with unauthorized material from China.

The waiver, signed Oct. 8 by William LaPlante, the Pentagon's chief weapons buyer, allows an alloy in the engine's lubricant pump that does not comply with U.S. procurement laws. Those bar unauthorized Chinese content in the jet.

The acceptance of the aircraft is necessary for national security interests, LaPlante said in a statement, adding that the determination applies until the last aircraft under the contract is accepted, currently projected for October 2023.

The pump supplier, Honeywell International Inc (NASDAQ:HON), will work to find an alternative source for the metal and use that in future lubricant pumps.

The magnet does not transmit information or harm aircraft, and that there are no security risks involved.

Lockheed Martin, which manufactures the jets, had said the issue was "related to a magnet on the F-35 Turbomachine manufactured by Honeywell that includes cobalt and samarium alloy."

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft is seen at the ILA Air Show in Berlin, Germany, April 25, 2018.    REUTERS/Axel Schmidt/File Photo/File Photo/File Photo

An alternative source for the alloy will be used in future, the Joint Program Office said in its statement.

There are other Chinese-origin magnets on the jet that have received waivers from past Pentagon officials.

Latest comments

No guts! Stop buying!
See, these effing politicians didn’t give a d’a’m’n’ about our national security. That’s why we need term limits and abolish permanent government positions. They effed U.S..
Cracks lines seen in Pentagon
I want one of those F35!
Cobalt is a strategic metal with worldwide production fully controlled by Chinese companies. What if China blocks exporting it to US, the same as Biden does to advanced chip exports to China? In the meantime, the same Biden’s administration continues blocking mining projects in US, which could produce strategic metals here, not in China.
So many other metals China controls over 50%. The point is not lost.
 China produces about 70% of cobalt metal and alloys. Africa (Congo) supplies cobalt ore/concentrate only. The metal smelting/refinery done in China. Of course, brad does not know the difference between ore and metal.
Most, all... Why quibble about the meaning of words when your objective is not precision anyway?
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