It's normal for us to lose things from time to time, but it's not every day that you hear the military say that they have lost a fighter jet while it was still flying in the air. With the latest updates, the fighter jet might've already run out of fuel and crashed.
Discovered Debris Field May Hold the Answer
It's easy enough to spot a plane in the air, especially during daylight, but given that the fighter jet is a stealth aircraft, it will take more than the public's naked eye to spot it. Despite that, the Marine Corps still asked the people for help spotting the F-35.
The public won't have to look any further. More or less two hours northeast of Joint Base Charleston, a debris field was found and identified. The military lost track of the fighter jet around Charleston, Carolina near Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion.
The pilot of the jet was ejected due to a "mishap" and has already received medical treatment in a local medical facility. The events that led to the loss are already under investigation and authorities are limiting disclosure to "preserve the integrity of the investigative process."
The remains of the aircraft are already being recovered. Joint Base Charleston has already transferred the incident command to the USMC and has already begun the process. According to CNN, this had already been a third "mishap" in the last six weeks.
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The Public Missed Their Chance to Spot a Stealth Jet
The military must've really needed to locate the F-35B Lightning II Jet from the Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron if they asked the public to keep an eye out while emergency response teams were already on the job.
The aircraft managed to stay in the air due to the pilot leaving it on autopilot before he safely ejected himself. The problem is that it had different coatings and designs specifically to make it more difficult to spot, as per Joint Base Charleston spokesperson Jeremy Huggins.
If you think it's ridiculous for the military to ask the public to spot a jet that was built to remain undetected, you're not alone. Rep. Nancy Mace said on X: "How in the hell do you lose an F-35? How is there not a tracking device and we're asking the public to what, find a jet and turn it in?"
According to Gizmodo, the F-35 fighter jet cost $135.8 million. It was said to be the "most advanced fighter jet in the world," as well as the "most lethal, stealthy, and survivable aircraft," says Aerospace company Lockheed Martin.
In a report by the US Government Accountability Office, the jet was more costly in terms of long-term operation. It has the most expensive weapon-system program, which will pull out around $1.7 trillion of taxpayer money to buy, operate, and sustain the aircraft and systems over its lifetime."
At least they could say that the stealth feature of the jet works wonders since no one was able to find it before it crashed, even with the proper resources. Sadly, the latest complication caused flight operations to be paused.
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