Russia counters the Storm Shadow missile

An F-35A fighter of the US Air Force. Photo: Defense News

In 2020, engineers discovered air ducts installed into the onboard inert gas generation system (OBIGGS) of some F-35As were damaged. In essence, this system helps the plane not explode when struck by lightning, by pumping nitrogen-rich air into the fuel tank. If the pipes are damaged, the OBIGGS system may not function properly in an emergency.

Therefore, F-35A aircraft were then banned from flying within a 40km radius of the lightning area. Other variants of the F-35 series, the F-35B and F-35C, do not have this problem, but the Pentagon still decided to pause the delivery of all F-35 fighters for a few weeks so that they could eliminate them. except for the possibility that the OBIGGS system encountered an error during mass production.

However, citing security reasons, the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO), the US government agency responsible for producing and maintaining F-35 fighters, did not disclose whether How many aircraft have had the OBIGGS system fixed and can fly near lightning areas.

Meanwhile, the US Air Force confirmed that the distance limit for F-35A fighters to approach areas with lightning will be reduced, after the OBIGGS system is certified safe to operate. In addition, pilots are also instructed not to fly into thundery weather unless it is necessary to complete the mission.

Lightning has long been a concern with F-35 versions in general, sometimes considered ironic, when this fighter model is nicknamed “Lightning”.

* The Indonesian Navy strengthens its capabilities with French submarines

Defense News reported that the Indonesian Navy has signed a contract to buy 2 Scorpene-class submarines from French contractor Naval Group. However, the content and value of the contract were not disclosed.

Indonesia is the next customer of Scorpene class submarines. Photo: Naval Group

It is known that these submarines will be built at the shipyard of PT PAL shipbuilding company in Indonesia. Naval Group will be responsible for technology transfer, while management, operation and maintenance will be carried out by Indonesian engineers.

Scorpene is a modern class of French diesel-electric submarines. The ship consists of 31 crew members, integrated with 6 launchers with a capacity of 18 torpedoes and missiles. The ship is capable of operating underwater for 12 days, diving up to 300m deep.

Naval Group is trying to recover after the failure of the agreement to sell submarines to Australia in 2021. Currently, the group has sold 6 Scorpene submarines to India, 4 to Brazil, 2 to Chile and 2 to Malaysia. .

MINH ANH (synthetic)