The Pentagon launches all F-35 fighter planes after a crash – latest issue of an expensive program

The US Navy, the Air Force and the Marines – along with 11 international partners involved in the program – grounded all F-35 fighters on Thursday as part of an ongoing investigation into an aircraft that crashed in Beaufort, South Carolina, late last month.

An officer in charge of the accident of a Navy aircraft is responsible for overseeing the investigation. She will conduct a fleet inspection of a fuel tube in the F-35 aircraft engine, according to military officials.

"The primary goal after any incident is the prevention of future incidents," said Joe Dellavedova, public relations director for the F-35 program, in a statement. "We will take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of operations as we deliver, maintain and modernize the F-35 for the benefit of the fighter and our defense partners."

Dellavedova said they would remove and replace fuel tubes that could be problematic. Planes that do not have the problem will be allowed to fly, he said, and they hope the inspections will be completed within 24 to 48 hours.

This is the only recent upheaval in a long-haul program that began in October 2001. A report from the Government Accountability Office presented to Congress in June 2018 showed that the hunter was becoming more and more expensive and regularly missed its deadlines, forcing the program to restructure completely in 2010. shifting its financial goal messages several times.

The bureau recommended in its June report that the Department of Defense "corrects all critical deficiencies before full-price production".

According to the GAO report, the United States has already spent more than $ 320 billion to develop and acquire more than 2,400 fighter jets.

Michael Gilmore, Director of Testing and Operations Evaluation at the Department of Defense until 2017, also described the F-35 program in his 2015 Annual Report in a very striking way. He wrote that It would be problematic to engage in a bulk purchase of the F-35 before November 2021 due to the technical difficulties encountered by the program, but it did not identify the fuel tubes as a specific problem.

"Is it prudent to further increase the number of purchased aircraft that may require modifications to achieve combat capability and useful life?" Gilmore wrote in the report, questioning the decision to engage in a bulk purchase.

"As noted by the program manager, every plane purchased to date requires modifications before being used in combat."

Gilmore, who left the office in 2017, and his successor, Robert Behler, could not be immediately contacted to comment on the decision to stop the F-35 on Thursday.

Dellavedova told NBC News that the latest issue would not affect the Pentagon's decision to acquire Lockheed Martin, a major buyer of the fighter. by plane.

"The F-35 is a proven aircraft in combat," he said. "It was only last month that the Marine Corps used the F-35 to conduct combat operations in Afghanistan."