Fort Worth-Built F-35 Fighter Deliveries on Hold Over Use of Chinese Components – By Joseph Morton (Dallas Morning News) / Sept 8, 2022
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will temporarily stop accepting deliveries of F-35 joint strike fighters produced by Lockheed Martin in North Texas after it was discovered a magnet being used in the advanced jets includes an alloy from China.
The pause does not affect F-35s already delivered and being flown by the Air Force, Navy and Marines.
“We have confirmed that the magnet does not transmit information or harm the integrity of the aircraft, and there are no performance, quality, safety or security risks associated with this issue, and flight operations for the F-35 in-service fleet will continue as normal,” F-35 Joint Program Office spokesman Russell Goemaere said in a prepared statement.
Lockheed Martin said the program supports tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs in Texas. That includes the company’s primary F-35 production facility in Fort Worth, where it has about 18,000 employees.
