A U.S. Navy F-35 fighter jet crashed at Naval Air Station Lemoore in central California on Wednesday.

“NAS Lemoore can confirm an aviation incident on the Operations side of the installation. At 1830, an F-35C attached to the VFA-125 Rough Raiders went down not far from NAS Lemoore,” NAS Lemoore said in a statement.

“We can confirm the pilot successfully ejected and is safe. There are no additional affected personnel,” it added.

“A local EMS crew was at the scene helping the pilot, and Cal Fire also responded, a Fresno County sheriff’s Office statement said,” Breaking Aviation News & Videos noted.

CNN has more:

The aircraft was assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron VF-125, known as the “Rough Raiders,” the Navy said. VF-125 is a Fleet Replacement Squadron, responsible for training pilots and aircrew.

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The crashed jet was an F-35C, one of three variants of the F-35 Lightning II, designed for use on US aircraft carriers. The US Air Force flies the F-35A while the Marine Corps flies the F-35B, a short takeoff, vertical landing jet.

The crash of the aircraft, priced at around $100 million, was the second of an F-35 this year. An Air Force F-35A crashed at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska in January during a training mission. The pilot also ejected safely in that incident.

The F-35, a fifth-generation fighter jet and one of the world’s most advanced warplanes, is a cornerstone of the US military’s fleet.

Manufactured by Lockheed Martin, it’s lauded for its advanced stealth and combat capabilities.

The Air Force has 246 F-35s in its fleet, the Marines Corps has 122 and the Navy has 41, according to the World Air Forces database on FlightGlobal.com. Worldwide, more than 17 countries are part of the F-35 program, Lockheed Martin says.

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With the second F-35 crash this year, questions may arise about the military aircraft’s reliability for prospective buyers.

Newsweek noted:

A crash of a jet fighter such as the F-35 will watched by countries considering buying the aircraft.

Manufactured by Lockheed Martin, the fifth-generation aircraft is lauded for its advanced stealth and combat capabilities. Worldwide, more than 17 countries are part of the F-35 program, the company says.

But Wednesday’s crash comes as some Western militaries have been asking whether, given the Trump administration’s at times abrasive and unpredictable approach to foreign policy, it is wise to develop an over-reliance on the F-35 fighter jet.

Many of the 20 nations operating or buying the stealth fighter aircraft are NATO members, and the U.K. announced at a NATO summit in June that it was buying at least 12 F-35A fighter jets for its air force, adding to the F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing, or STOVL, variant used by its navy.

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The same month, Israel showed what the F-35 can do in combat when it began its airstrike campaign against Iran.

Nevertheless, military analysts say questions about an over-reliance on a single supply source will linger, and another crash of the aircraft could add to prospective buyers’ questions.

 

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