Ten of the Royal Australian Air Force’s new multi-million-dollar strike fighters have corrosion issues after the manufacturer failed to use a protective primer when painting the F-35s
The Australian reported this morning that pilots could face such debilitating ear pain or sinus injury from internal pressure changes that they could crash during complex manoeuvres, a US Government Accountability Office report has warned.
The corrosion and the internal pressure scenario are the latest issues plaguing the aircraft that cost about $100 million each and are expected to start arriving in Australia later this year.
The Australian Defence Force confirmed on Friday that 10 of its Lockheed Martin-built fighters had been affected by the primer issue that the US government says has to be fixed via a month- long repair process. The issue was first noticed on a US plane by authorities late last year when corrosion was discovered on fasteners under an F-35A’s fuselage panels during maintenance.