The U.S. Department of Defense approved a waiver that allows Lockheed Martin to resume delivery of F-35, which was previously suspended due to the discovery of an alloy made from unauthorized Chinese materials.
Bilical leaders of the U.S. Armed Forces Committee and other relevant committee members received a letter from Pentagon on Friday, saying that William Lapland, deputy secretary of the Defense Department, signed a waiver that could resume delivery.
Lockheed Martin said it has not been formally notified of its waiver and cannot comment. Congress has allegedly received notice that the exemption has been approved.
Pentagon and Lockheed announced on September 7 that the delivery of the F-35 fighter was suspended due to the discovery of a subcontractor using cobalt and samarium alloy from China to create a magnet. The magnet is part of a key engine component of the turbomachinery manufactured by Honeywell. Lockheed said the supplier that supplies the alloy is the fifth-tier supplier.
The Pentagon said the magnets would not transmit information and would not put the fighter at risk, adding that the fighter that had been delivered would not need to replace the magnets.
But due to concerns that the materials purchased by China may violate the relevant US military procurement bill, the military decided to stop accepting the new F-35.
Lapland said at a briefing on September 9 that the Ministry of Defense investigation is being carried out quickly to confirm that the alloy does not affect safety, airworthiness and safety, and if so, a waiver is likely to be issued to restore the delivery of the F-35. The Joint Project Office of
F-35 said last month that the relevant contractors are using another source to produce alloys for turbomachine magnets.
