The Pentagon said on Sept 7 that it has halted deliveries of fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets after a component used in the plane’s engine was found to be sourced from China.
U.S. Defense giant Lockheed Martin, the company making the F-35s, said the component is a magnet on the plane’s turbomachine pumps manufactured by U.S. aerospace parts maker Honeywell International. The defense company added that the magnet was made with a cobalt and samarium alloy that originated from China.
A turbomachine is a part of what Lockheed Martin calls the F-35 aircraft’s “integrated power package,” which provides electrical power to start the plane’s engine….