Sudden!The Pentagon has suspended the receiving F-35, related to China?

Because a component of the engine uses alloy materials from China, the US Department of Defense has suspended the delivery of the F-35 fighter.

Screenshot of the "Congress Mountain News" website report

According to the US "Congress" website on September 7, the US Department of Defense and the F-35 fighter manufacturer Lockheed Martin confirmed on Wednesday that the Pentagon has stopped delivery of the F-35 fighter because Loma was early It was found that a component of the F-35 fighter engine uses materials from China.

According to the US media, Russell Gaotmeller, a spokesman for the Pentagon Defense Contract Management Department, said in a statement that on August 19, the National Defense Contract Management Department notified the F-35 joint project office, the magnet in the F-35 engine turbine used The alloys are produced in China. Gaotmeller said that the F-35 Joint Project Office decided to "suspend the receiving a new F-35 aircraft to ensure that the F-35 project is compliant with special metal-related national defense regulations."

According to reports, Honeywell is responsible for producing turbine for the engine of the F-35 fighter. In late August, Honeywell was notified from one of their third-level suppliers. American magnetization.

"Out of careful consideration, the delivery was suspended," said in a statement of the National Defense Contract Management Department, and said that the F-35 fighter currently in use does not have security issues. The F-35 Joint Project Office also stated that the component will not affect the flight operation of the fifth-generation fighter in service.

F-35 fighter production line

According to the US "Defense News" website, Loma said that the company is working with the Pentagon to solve this problem and is providing information required to the F-35 joint project to obtain national security exemption and allow the use of Chinese alloy materials F-35 fighter jets are delivered smoothly.

US media said that the Pentagon and Loma stated that they would seek sources of alternative materials for future turbine production.

In fact, this is not the first time that the F-35 fighter has been exposed to use Chinese components. In 2019, the British Sky Television broke the news that the circuit board of the F-35 fighter was manufactured by the Exception PCB headquarters in England, and the company was acquired by a Chinese company in 2013.

In recent years, many American politicians have been encouraging "the United States to get rid of rare earth dependence against China", and the US government has also introduced a series of measures to create a rare earth supply chain. In 2019, the US government documents exposed by foreign media show that the Pentagon plans to be equipped with F-35 fighters and other equipment. Dependence on Chinese products ". In 2022, US Congress members successively proposed two bills, asking the U.S. government to establish a strategic reserve of rare earth, and also required prohibiting national defense business contractors from purchasing China's rare earth by 2026. Bloomberg has analyzed that the United States needs at least ten years to achieve self -sufficiency in the rare earth supply chain.

Faced with the issue of Western countries' concerns about the monopoly of the rare earth market, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China has responded that China has always adhered to the policy of openness, collaboration, and sharing to promote the development of the domestic rare earth industry. It is necessary to play a positive role in promoting the development of China's economy and world economy. We live in the era of globalization. The global industrial chain is closely linked and intertwined. In this case, it is impossible to lead or monopolize a certain field or market, or to remove or eliminate a section chain. Xiaobian Z

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