Questions are being asked as to why the F-35B Lightning II which crashed on Sunday in South Carolina was allowed to take off on its training mission, given the bad weather forecast.
Asked whether the Air Force would be willing to try again on pursuing an adaptive engine if Congress provided more funding, service Secretary Frank Kendall said, "No, we've made our decision."
The news comes just a few days after prime contractor Lockheed Martin reached an agreement with the government on a $30 billion contract for hundreds more F-35s.
“Due to additional findings earlier this year, this upgrade will provide an improvement, but is insufficient to lift the lightning restriction,” an F-35 spokesman told Breaking Defense. “Lightning restrictions will be lifted when all safety concerns are resolved or acceptably mitigated.”