Defence minister says 'engine concerns' will not affect Australia's $12.4bn purchase of 58 of the same model

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

The US military has grounded the entire fleet of Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jets – the same model the Australian government has committed to buying for $12.4bn – because of engine concerns.



The inspections were triggered after one plane caught fire at a Florida airbase last Tuesday. Witnesses reported the engine tore through the top of the plane, CBC News reports.



The rest of the fleet would be grounded until inspections of the single-engine made by Pratt and Whitney had been carried out in all the aircraft, Reuters said.



The US Defence Department had been preparing to send the jet to Britain to fly by a naming ceremony for Britain's new aircraft carrier. Whether that will go ahead is now in doubt.



The purchase of the planes by the Australian government in April was one of the biggest spends in Australia’s defence history.



At the time, the defence minister, David Johnston, said there was flexibility in the purchase for the government to defer payments if they were “unhappy customers”.



A spokesman told Guardian Australia Johnston had immediately been made aware of the engine fire and the planes’ grounding.

“The ‘engine concerns’ will not affect the purchase of 58 aircraft,” the spokesman said.

“While the F135 engine has successfully completed nearly 32,000 hours of testing, availability has remained steady at about 98%. Single-engine fighters are operated by many air forces and defence remains confident the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will be reliable and safe.”

Johnston had full confidence in the joint strike fighter program, he said.

The purchase of the jets was controversial because the cost and reliability of the single-engine plane has been repeatedly questioned.

The One Dead Pilot report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives said the single-engine plane was risky because if the engine failed there was no back-up.