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F-35 fighter jet crashes in Alaska; pilot is ‘safe’ after ejecting
Officers stated an F-35 fighter jet crashed in Alaska on Tuesday after the pilot managed to securely eject from the plane – the most recent mishap involving the U.S. army’s costliest weapon system.
The crash occurred simply earlier than 1 p.m. native time throughout the fence line of Eielson Air Drive Base, about 25 miles southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska, based on 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs. Officers stated the pilot was protected and in steady situation at a neighborhood hospital.
The incident was captured in a dramatic video that exhibits the jet falling out of the sky earlier than it smashes into the bottom, exploding on impression and sending a plume of smoke into the air.
It is unclear what led to the crash. Colonel Paul Townsend, commander of the 354th Fighter Wing, stated at a information convention on Tuesday that the pilot skilled an “in-flight malfunction.” The jet was touchdown after a coaching train when the malfunction occurred, Townsend stated.
“Our persons are our most necessary useful resource, and we’re dedicated in making certain their security and safety,” Townsend stated. “I can guarantee you the US Air Drive will conduct an intensive investigation into this incident to reduce the possibilities of such occurrences from taking place once more.”
Requested about whether or not the crash harms the status of the F-35, Townsend stated he stays “assured” within the jet’s capabilities. “We are going to proceed to have a look at the investigation and do our greatest to uncover any of the issues that may have contributed to the incident. However, proper now, I can stand and say that I’ve full religion within the capabilities of the F-35A,” he stated.
Lockheed Martin, the producer of the F-35, stated in a press release it was conscious of the incident. “Security is our precedence, and we’re standing by to assist the US Air Drive as wanted,” the protection contractor stated.
It added, “The F-35 is probably the most superior, survivable and linked fighter plane on the earth, a significant deterrent and the cornerstone of joint all-domain operations.”
Tuesday’s crash is the most recent mishap involving the F-35. Final Could, a pilot was significantly injured after he ejected from an F-35 earlier than the fighter jet crashed close to the airfield at Albuquerque Worldwide Sunport. When the plane went down, it was headed from Fort Value, Texas, to Edwards Air Drive Base in California, and had stopped at Kirtland Air Drive Base in New Mexico to refuel.
A 12 months earlier, a jet flew unmanned right into a discipline in South Carolina after the pilot ejected and parachuted right into a yard in Charleston.
The F-35 is the U.S. army’s costliest weapons program. The U.S. Division of Protection plans to spend over $2 trillion to purchase, function and keep F-35s via 2088, based on the U.S. Authorities Accountability Workplace.
For the reason that jets have been first unveiled in 2006, they’ve been suffering from rising prices, manufacturing delays and, extra just lately, crashes. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk ‒ who Trump tapped to co-lead the newly fashioned Division of Authorities Effectivity ‒ have each beforehand criticized the undertaking.
“The F-35 design was damaged on the necessities degree, as a result of it was required to be too many issues to too many individuals. This made it an costly & complicated jack of all trades, grasp of none,” Musk stated in a publish on X in November. “Success was by no means within the set of potential outcomes. And manned fighter jets are out of date within the age of drones anyway. Will simply get pilots killed.”
There are an estimated 630 F-35s throughout the army, based on the Authorities Accountability Workplace. The Division of Protection plans to purchase about 1,800 extra by the mid-2040s.
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