The Marine Corps says the remains of a stealth jet that went missing after the pilot ejected have been located in Williamsburg County, two hours northeast of Joint Base Charleston (JBC). The military asked for public help finding an aircraft built to evade detection. “Local community members are urged to avoid the area as crews secure and recover debris,” officials said Monday night. “We cannot provide additional details at this time to preserve the investigation’s integrity.”
A Marine spokesman said that the jet was in autopilot mode and was left in an unforeseen mishap. He said the plane’s transponder was off, and its stealth technology enabled it to elude traditional radar systems. The pilot escaped unharmed. The disappearance of the F-35B Lightning II drew amazement and ridicule in equal measure. The jet is coveted by US allies, including Ukraine, which has been trying to obtain the advanced combat aircraft since Russia invaded the country last year. The plane’s distinctive shape and features, which help it slip past radar, make it one of the world’s most lethal fighter jets. It also can travel up to 1,300 miles without refueling.
The loss of the plane, which the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing operates, also has prompted a review of training and safety procedures. A press release said that the Marines are urging all of their aviation units to take a two-day pause in flights and review ground safety and maintenance procedures. The pause, ordered by the acting Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Eric Smith, will include all of the service’s flying units, which includes fighter, transport, and cargo aircraft.
An F-35A crash in Utah in October reportedly was caused by turbulence created by another jet’s wake. A similar crash in Japan last year was attributed to pilot error, and an Air Force F-35A that crashed in Alaska last year was due to a malfunctioning engine. The F-35 program is more than ten years behind schedule and $183 billion over budget, according to the government’s watchdog agency, the GAO.
The loss of the F-35B was the third of a kind in six weeks. The other two incidents were minor. The spokesman for JBC, Jeremy Huggins, said the aircraft had been flying a training mission in and around the Beaufort-area airport. JBC has about 700 of the jets, making it the country’s second-largest operator of the F-35. The F-35 is considered one of the most advanced aircraft ever developed. The Marines hope to replace their old fighters with the new aircraft eventually. The price tag for the whole project is nearly $1.7 trillion. The GAO has warned that the program risks becoming a money pit. The Defense Department has delayed the delivery of more than 100 of the jets. The delay will cost the US taxpayers an extra $183 million.
