New Study Fuels Debate Over F-35 Safety

[unhappycamper]

http://digital.vpr.net/post/new-study-fuels-debate-over-f-35-safety



At a press conference Thursday, Lt. Col. Chris Caputo defended the Vermont Air National Guard's safety record amid an increasingly heated debate over the safety of the Guard and the F-35.

New Study Fuels Debate Over F-35 Safety
By Taylor Dobbs and Steve Zind
6:03 pm Thu October 3, 2013

The Department of Defense released a report this week criticizing the F-35 program’s quality assurance systems, noting that the program does not have legally required checks on “Critical Safety Items” involved in F-35 manufacturing.

The report, issued by the Inspector General of the Department of Defense, examined the quality-assurance practices in place at Lockheed Martin and five “major subcontractors” involved in the fighter jet’s manufacture.

“The F-35 Program did not sufficiently implement … technical and quality management system requirements to prevent the fielding of nonconforming hardware and software,” the report said.

The report gave new ammunition to opponents fighting the plan to base up to 24 of the next generation fighters in Chittenden County. Much of the initial debate over the plane revolved around the noise created by the plane and its impact on public health and property values.

--
Further reading:

http://www.navytimes.com/article/20131003/NEWS04/310030038/Pentagon-Shutdown-affects-F-35-test-flights-deliveries
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2013/10/03/Japan-chooses-Mitsubishi-Electric-IHI-MHI-for-F-35-parts/UPI-15821380794520/
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/proart/20131003/news03/310030027/insurance-issue-forces-postponement-burlington-council-vote-f-35-resolution?pagerestricted=1

on edit to add:
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/multimedia-release----northrop-grumman-delivers-center-fuselage-for-australias-first-f-35-lightning-ii-226381551.html