The Defense Department has stopped accepting most F-35 jets delivered by Lockheed Martin Corp. amid a dispute regarding the cost to fix a production mistake in more than 200 of the aircraft, according to a report Wednesday.
“While all work in our factories remains active, the F-35 Joint Program Office has temporarily suspended accepting aircraft until we reach an agreement on a contractual issue and we expect this to be resolved soon,” a Lockheed spokesperson told Reuters.
The Pentagon previously stopped accepting F-35s for 30 days after corrosion was found where the carbon fiber exterior panels were attached to the airframes. The military immediately stopped accepting any newly manufactured jets.
After a solution was worked out, Lockheed began delivering new planes, even hitting its 2017 goal.
Lockheed said it intends to hits its 91-plane goal for this year even as technicians have to travel around the globe to various locations the jets are now in, driving up costs on the project.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request comment.
It’s not clear when the latest suspension of delivery began and how far the parties are in talks to fix the problem.
