F-35 News. When did Category 1-B become a thing?

via National Interest.

Lockheed eventually hopes to sell over 2,400 F-35s to the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps and over a thousand more to foreign operators. Already, over four hundred F-35s have been delivered under so-called “Low Rate of Initial Production,” many lacking the fixes and improvements implemented in later models. Theoretically, full-rate production should only be authorized once all major deficiencies being resolved.

However, on June 12, 2019, Valerie Insinna, Aaron Mehta and David B. Larter of Defense News published a series of articles based on newly acquired documents detailing thirteen Category-1B deficiencies impacting the ability of the Pentagon’s brand-new F-35 to perform their missions.

These flaws, many of which had never been previously disclosed—were formerly described as Category-1 flaws (posing risk of aircraft or pilot loss), but after the articles’ publication, they were retroactively accorded a new, less-serious Category-1B status.

Two previously unrevealed deficiencies suggest that the F-35B and F-35C models operated by the Marine Corps and Navy exhibit flaws that substantially degrading their ability to perform demanding air combat maneuvers and maintain supersonic speeds at very high altitudes.

Story here. 

Simple question.

When did Category 1-B Deficiencies become a thing?  I don't EVER recall that particular nomenclature before.

Is this new?

Are they now publicly pulling shit out their ass?

This is curious.  Extremely curious.

Sidenote.  They can call these deficiencies "1-B" but they can't escape the reality.  These flaws pose a risk to pilots and aircraft, and they're about to put this thing into full rate production.  That's criminal.  That's procurement malpractice.  That's a waste of resources when our nation can't afford it!