U.S. Air Force clears Lockheed F-35 jets’ return to flight

The U.S. Air Force cleared nearly all of its 349-jet inventory of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) F-35 fighter jets to return to normal operations, after grounding them for two weeks to check for defective ejector seat components, the Air Combat Command spokesperson told Bloomberg on Monday.

Technicians replaced four of 706 explosive cartridges used in the F-35s, which were later inspected and determined compliant, the Air Force said, according to the report.

The cartridges were made by Martin-Baker Aircraft Company, which had said an “anomaly” discovered in an F-35 cartridge at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, was traced back to a “gap in the manufacturing process which was addressed and changed.”

Last week, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded Lockheed Martin (LMT) a modification contract of more than $7.6B to build 129 new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. apple.news