Deliveries of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 will resume after the Pentagon’s acquisitions chief issued a "national security” waiver from a ban on a Chinese alloy used in a component on the fighter jet.
The component — a magnet in a device supplied by Honeywell International Inc. — has been used in the plane since 2003. After the Chinese alloy was discovered, the Pentagon suspended deliveries of new F-35s last month, citing regulations on "specialty metals.”
William LaPlante, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, signed the waiver to allow deliveries of aircraft to resume despite the banned alloy, he said in a statement released Saturday. Lockheed said Honeywell has found an "alternative U.S. source” for the alloy that will be used in the production of future aircraft starting November.