US Waives Ban on Metals from China, Japan for F-35 Fighter

Metals from China, Japan and other locations were some time ago approved for use in the construction of the F-35 fifth-generation stealth fighter designed for the US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, Caitlin Lee, an aviation specialist wrote in an article for the London-based Jane's Defense Weekly on Jan. 5.

Lee said laws which banned the use of particular metals from foreign nations including China had been waived by the Pentagon between November 2012 and April 2013. The US Department of Defense reportedly allowed the import of metals from China at a time when it was extremely concerned over growing Chinese military power in the region. Currently, the United States is unable to source these metals itself.

"There was no risk associated with the use of the materials and the time required to re-qualify a compliant high performance magnet would have resulted in significant delays to the program," said Joe DellaVedova, spokesperson for the F-35 Joint Program Office under the US government, "There was never any risk of technology transfer or other security breaches associated with these manufacturing compliance issues."

In addition, DellaVedova said the F-35 Joint Program Office is working with industry to put in place long-term solutions to avoid the need for future waivers. Lee stated that the Pentagon did not say what other locations beside China and Japan provided the special metals for the F-35 fighters. Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor for the F-35, refused to give any comment regarding the waiver. [via]