- A pilot ejected from his F-35B Lightning II jet following a “mishap” throughout a Sunday coaching flight.
- While the pilot was unhurt, the jet was misplaced and has not but been recovered by officers.
- The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program is the DOD’s costliest at $1.7 trillion.
An costly F-35 jet has been misplaced someplace in South Carolina following a coaching mishap.
A Marine Corps pilot was flying one of many nation’s costliest fighters close to Joint Base Charleston on Sunday afternoon when an unknown downside occurred, forcing the pilot to desert the plane and eject.
“We can confirm a mishap involving an F-35B Lightning II jet from Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron (VMFAT) 501 with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing,” a United States Marine Corps spokesperson informed Insider. “The pilot safely ejected from the aircraft. We are currently still gathering more information and assessing the situation. The mishap will be under investigation.”
The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program is the Department of Defense’s costliest weapon system program, in accordance with the US Government Accountability Office. Per the GAO, officers estimate it is going to price American taxpayers about $1.7 trillion to “buy, operate, and sustain the aircraft and systems over its lifetime.” A single Marine Corps F-35B prices $135.8 million, in accordance with a 2020 report from the Project On Government Oversight.
The pilot, after ejecting, was present in a residential neighborhood close to South Kenwood Drive in North Charleston and transported to an area medical heart in steady situation, in accordance with native information outlet WCBD. His wingman safely landed in a separate plane, the outlet reported.
Representatives for Joint Base Charleston didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from Insider however posted on X that officers have been working with Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort to find the misplaced F-35. Details relating to the coaching train that prompted the mishap are at present beneath investigation.
According to a former take a look at pilot, F-35 jets — Lockheed Martin’s fifth-generation stealth plane — are supposed for air superiority and strike missions, Insider beforehand reported, and are “designed precisely” to struggle and win within the type of struggle taking place in Ukraine. The US Air Force deployed F-35s to NATO’s entrance line to patrol for Russian missiles following the invasion of Ukraine.
While every plane has varied weaponry configurations, the jets have a robust digital intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance suite. In a configuration often called “beast mode,” which Insider beforehand reported sacrifices stealth for firepower, F-35s will be geared up with laser-guided bombs on their wings, and an AIM-9 air-to-air heat-seeking missile.
