Universal Synaptics’ Portable Intermittent Fault Detector (PIFD™) was the subject of Senator Mike Rounds’ first question to Deputy Secretary of Defense nominee Richard O’Malley during his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation process.
Date: Tuesday, July 14, 2026
Time: 09:30 EST
Video Link
View the official hearing beginning at the 1:13:20 mark
Transcript
SASC Chairman
Senator Rounds, you are recognized.
Senator Mike Rounds
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First, let me just thank all of you for your service to our country. Mr. O’Malley, I’m going to ask you a question that I normally wouldn’t ask, except for the fact that I think it’s been brought up that specifically it’s technical in nature, but it’s one that I think we want to bring attention to. The Portable Intermittent Fault Detector, or PIFD, This is an aircraft wiring tester achieved authority to operate on the F-35 program in 2020. Over the last six years, the PIFD has been used only to respond to action requests and have resolved over 90 aircraft wiring problems, including returning grounded aircraft to operational status. According to the Department of War and GAO data, the PIFD has increased readiness by more than 50% on every aircraft wiring system that it has been applied to. A GAO report identified that three out of four F-35s are not mission capable. As it pertains to the F-35 aircraft wiring intermittent faults and no fault found tests, results are of significant concern to this committee due to there being 3 variants of this aircraft, with 47 different wiring configurations. If confirmed, will you work with me and the committee to determine why the PIFD has not been fully adopted and industrialized as a standard piece of support equipment across the F-35 program and to establish a deadline for the adoption and deployment of the PIFD to F-35 maintainers to improve the readiness and sustainability of this critical weapons platform and to facilitate its deployment? Like I say, technical in nature, but pretty important.
Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Nominee Richard M. O’Malley
Yes, Senator, and thank you for being with me to discuss 3D printing and the South Dakota School of Mines. I appreciate our time. If confirmed, I would welcome the opportunity to work with you on this issue and this committee and the Joint Program Office to examine specific engineering, funding, and bureaucratic barriers that have limited PIFD across the F-35 program.
Senator Mike Rounds
This has been recommended not just by the committee, but by the Pentagon in general. It needs to be implemented.