The corrosion problems in the F-35 variants is not a secret and has been in the news many times in the past. In fact,
its acceptence were suspended temporarily in 2018 due to another corrosion problem. And, for another:
corrosion was found in several fastener holes under the fuselage panels of a F-35A
This time the problem appears to be with the RAM coating containing metallic particles. Here is the latest situation:
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F35 was found to be covered in rust, can stealth fighters still be invisible if they are rusted?The U.S. Navy is underwhelming
2022-01-30 16:59 HKT
In a news released by the U.S. Navy recently, people were surprised to find that the once majestic U.S. stealth fighter F-35 was actually covered with a layer of rust, which was particularly eye-catching in the photo. Many people were surprised when they saw it. Under such circumstances, can fighter jets still maintain stealth capabilities?
It was the F-35C fighter jets on the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson that had been dangling near China. In fact, this is not the first time that the F-35 has made such "big news". As early as 2017, news broke that the F-35 series fighters had serious corrosion problems.
At that time, according to media reports of Bloomberg, after the Pentagon rusted on the F-35 fighter, it delayed the plan to equip the military with the fighter for 30 days. But according to Bloomberg's report at the time, the location where rust occurred was the connection between the F-35's carbon fiber outer panel and the aluminum fuselage. The problem was not particularly serious at the time.
According to Pentagon spokesman Joe Dellavedova, the rust was caused by a manufacturing error by the arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin. And Lockheed Martin has promised that this problem will be solved in subsequent manufacturing, and they are confident that this problem will be solved.
However, by 2022, everyone has seen what Lockheed Martin's commitment will turn out to be. Not only has the problem of rust not been solved at all, but it has become more and more serious. In 2017, the F-35 was only rusted at a few connections. Now, the entire skin is covered with rust on a large scale. From a distance, it looks like a piece of garbage that is about to be thrown into the sea. .
As we all know, the most important thing for a stealth fighter is the stealth performance of the fuselage, and large-scale corrosion will inevitably lead to the destruction of the stealth performance of the fighter. Although the Pentagon said in an interview with Bloomberg: "These deficiencies do not threaten the flight safety of the F-35, nor do they affect our operations."
But this kind of self-deceiving nonsense obviously cannot be convinced by people. According to data released by the U.S. Department of Defense, the Pentagon spends up to $21 billion annually on rust prevention for all weapons and equipment. And whether this fee is used in the place where it should be used is really doubtful from the point of view of effect.
The F-35 that rusted on a large scale this time was deployed on the aircraft carrier. It is not unexpected that such a serious rust incident occurred. Under normal circumstances, when an aircraft carrier of the US Navy sails on the ocean for three to four months, it should return to port for repairs. It stands to reason that such an embarrassing situation will not occur. Because it's not just ships and planes that need rest, but heavy rust at sea that needs to be cleaned up too.
Different from the ground at sea, seawater is highly corrosive, and the sea breeze has high salinity, and the damage to equipment is not generally large. Not to mention the precious equipment such as stealth fighters, even large warships cannot withstand long-term sea wind and waves.
But now the US Navy has to maintain high-intensity maritime operations due to its lack of troops, and has overdrawn its own troops. Now a large number of US warships and aircraft are deployed in the vast ocean and have not been repaired as they should. This irresponsible action can damage the equipment almost to the naked eye.
Some people have questions, if the stealth aircraft is rusted, how much will it affect the stealth performance? For stealth fighters, the problem of rust is actually very serious. Because the rusted part will not only destroy the stealth coating of the fuselage, but also have a serious impact on the appearance. The most typical example is that the stealth layer falls off. The previous F-22 fighter had an accident in which the stealth coating fell off and was sucked in by the engine, resulting in a near crash. Now the same problem has appeared on the F-35, which is bound to seriously affect its combat efficiency.
Stealth fighters, on the other hand, are very compact in design, with a large number of parts tightly packed together, and rust can cause many parts to fail. Before the F-35, there have been accidents such as lack of oxygen in the pilot, failure of the radar system, and inexplicable failure of some electronic systems, and the investigation of the cause has not been clear. Now, a large part of the reason is caused by rust.
So the problem can't be solved if the cause is found? I'm afraid the answer is yes. The current state of the US Navy is that it cannot solve the problem. Because of the aging of a large number of equipment in the US Navy, it is difficult for the current force to be deployed in all aspects of the world, and many ships have to serve overtime.
Moreover, the tasks to be performed are becoming more and more onerous. A large number of ships that should have been returned to the port for maintenance have been forced to deploy beyond the time limit. The price paid is a lot of damage to the equipment. In recent years, accidents in the US Navy have continued, most of which are caused by humans. It can be seen that if the United States does not curb its hegemonic behavior and wait for the US Navy, it may not be as simple as a mechanical accident.
