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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| F-35 fighter jet fleet grounded by Pentagon | F-35 fighter jet fleet grounded by Pentagon |
| (1 day later) | |
| The US has grounded its entire fleet of 51 F-35 fighter jets after the discovery of a cracked engine blade. | The US has grounded its entire fleet of 51 F-35 fighter jets after the discovery of a cracked engine blade. |
| The fault was detected during a routine inspection of an Air Force version of the jet (F-35A) at Edwards Air Force Base in California, said the Pentagon. | |
| Different versions are flown by the Navy and the Marine Corps. All have been grounded. | |
| The F-35 is the Pentagon's most expensive weapons programme. with a cost of nearly $400bn (£260bn). | The F-35 is the Pentagon's most expensive weapons programme. with a cost of nearly $400bn (£260bn). |
| The Pentagon said flight operations would remain suspended until the root cause is established. | The Pentagon said flight operations would remain suspended until the root cause is established. |
| Friday's order was the second time in two months planes from the F-35 range have been grounded. | Friday's order was the second time in two months planes from the F-35 range have been grounded. |
| The Marine Corps variant (F-35B), a short take-off and vertical landing variant (STOVL), was grounded for nearly a month after a manufacturing defect caused a fuel line to detach just before a training flight in January. | |
| The Air Force version takes off from, and lands on, conventional runways while the STOVL version takes off from shorter runways and lands like a helicopter. | |
| The UK is buying the STOVL variant for its future aircraft carriers. | The UK is buying the STOVL variant for its future aircraft carriers. |
| It is replacing the scrapped Harrier jet which had a range of 300 nautical miles, compared with the F-35's 450 nautical miles. | It is replacing the scrapped Harrier jet which had a range of 300 nautical miles, compared with the F-35's 450 nautical miles. |
| With a top speed of 1,200mph (1,930km/h), the F-35 can fly almost twice as fast as the Harrier, while it also has radar transparency and stealth capabilities - the Harrier had neither. | With a top speed of 1,200mph (1,930km/h), the F-35 can fly almost twice as fast as the Harrier, while it also has radar transparency and stealth capabilities - the Harrier had neither. |