The problems are far from fixed. But at least some of the U.S. stealth fighters are now allowed to start flying again. The rest are grounded until God knows when.
The U.S. military cleared 20 Joint Strike Fighters to resume flight testing on Thursday, after spending the last two-and-a-half weeks on the tarmac. On August 2,
a valve malfunctioned on one plane’s Integrated Power Package; the flaw was deemed serious enough that the entire F-35 fleet was
forbidden to fly.
The issue hasn’t been resolved, nor is anyone quite sure how to make things right. “An Air Force Safety Investigation Board continues to review the circumstances that led to the failure,” the F-35 Joint Program Office noted in a
statement (.pdf). For now, the military will “monitor” the valve during flights, until someone comes up with a “permanent resolution.”
SOURCE