Labor Union Strike Disrupts F-35 Production
Its supporters have described the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II as the most effective multirole combat aircraft ever built. More than 1,100 have been delivered to customers. In March, it even logged its millionth flight hour.
Moreover, the fifth-generation stealth fighter has an unblemished combat record, with none lost in combat. However, it is still a machine, meaning it isn’t invincible.
There have been several crashes, with the most recent early this year, while the “all-weather” aircraft, almost ironically, wasn’t cleared to fly if lightning was present. In 2021, two F-35Bs based out of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, suffered severe damage after being struck by lightning while in flight.
Then last year, some of the F-35s stored outside of Lockheed Martin’s facility were also damaged in a summer hailstorm!
This week, the F-35 also met a foe like no other… the trade union whose workers produce the Lightning II’s F135 engine.
Approximately 3,000 workers at Pratt and Whitney went on strike early Monday, after the company’s union members rejected a proposed deal. International........
© The National Interest
