F-22 jets to get back-up oxygen after safety fears

The US air force has awarded Lockheed Martin a contract to retrofit 40 F-22 fighters with an automatic backup oxygen supply, after some pilots experienced severe oxygen deprivation when flying the supersonic plane, the United States’ most advanced combat aircraft.

The Pentagon announced new safety precautions last month for the F-22s, after a five-month grounding last year, but said it did not rule out grounding the aircraft again.

Concern over the jet’s safety flared last month after a TV news programme reported that two pilots said they had stopped flying the fighter due to safety concerns.

The Senate armed services committee said it hoped the air force would be able to resolve the issue and that it would continue to exercise “close oversight” in the meantime.

In a report accompanying its 2013 defence spending bill, the committee said the navy reported 64 incidents and two deaths due to similar problems with F/A-18 fighter planes built by Boeing from 2002 to 2009, but ultimately resolved the problem.

The air force has documented 11 hypoxia incidents in 10,000 F-22 flights since the planes resumed flying late last year.

Last month, a Senate committee was told the air force viewed the pilots who spoke to reporters as whistleblowers entitled to protection from retaliation.