WASHINGTON — A Marine Corps F-35 squadron is back flying after software glitches grounded planes at Yuma Air Station in Arizona for a day.

Flight operations for F-35Bs used by Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211 were suspended Thursday because of "anomalies" caused by a recent update of the aircraft's Autonomic Logistics Information System, which is used for critical functions such as maintaining the jet and mission planning.

The service resumed flight operations on Friday after steps were taken to "mitigate" problems caused by the ALIS 2.0.2 install, the service said in a news release. According to a corresponding statement sent by the F-35 Joint Program Office, the JPO  isolated the root cause and generated a software fix.

"With this fix, VMAF-211 at MCAS Yuma resumed flight operations today," the JPO said in a statement that did not elaborate on how the issue was resolved. "The JPO with LM will continue to monitor and improve ALIS performance to ensure our warfighters have the required F-35 air systems to operate safely and effectively."

The F-35A and F-35C installed ALIS 2.0.2 in April, but deployment of the new software aboard the F-35Bs lagged slightly behind. After the F-35Bs at Yuma adopted the new version of the logistics system, users found maintenance codes were not always reflected accurately in the system, Maj. Kurt Stahl, director of public affairs with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, wrote in a statement on Thursday.

"There is nothing wrong with the performance or safety of the aircraft itself, but it is imperative that we ensure the ground-based ALIS system is working properly before flight operations continue," Stahl said Thursday.

About Valerie Insinna

Valerie Insinna is Defense News' air warfare reporter. She previously worked the Navy/congressional beats for Defense Daily, which followed almost three years as a staff writer for National Defense Magazine. Prior to that, she worked as an editorial assistant for the Tokyo Shimbun’s Washington bureau.

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