Mystery deepens over missing $100m stealth fighter as officials reveal F-35 was put on autopilot when pilot ejected over South Carolina meaning jet could have carried on flying in 'zombie state'

[Geee]

Daily Mail

One of the most sophisticated and expensive fighter jets in the world is missing somewhere in South Carolina after a pilot was forced to eject for an unknown reason while leaving his F-35 with stealth capabilities flying in a 'zombie state.'  

The incident occurred over North Charleston around 2pm Sunday as two jets, worth around $100 million each, were flying side-by-side. 

The pilot ejected and parachuted safely into a residential area. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was in stable condition, said Maj. Melanie Salinas. The pilot’s name has not been released.

 

Based on the missing plane’s location and trajectory, the search for the F-35 Lightning II jet was focused on Lake Moultrie, around 50 miles from North Charleston, said Senior Master Sgt. Heather Stanton at Joint Base Charleston. The pilot enabled the autopilot function prior to his ejection. 

Officials have also said that they have no evidence that that the plane has actually crashed. :snip:

[Geee]

Authorities request help in desperate search for missing fighter jet

U.S. military officials are searching for a missing F-35 jet after a "mishap" caused its pilot to eject on Sunday afternoon.

 

Joint Base Charleston said on Facebook that the aircraft was a Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II belonging to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. The pilot ejected safely and was transported to a local medical center.

The base is working with Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort to help locate the missing aircraft. Emergency response teams have been deployed to find the jet.

"Based on the jet’s last-known position and in coordination with the FAA, we are focusing our attention north of JB Charleston, around Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion," Joint Base Charleston said in a statement on Facebook.

[Valin]

45 minutes ago, Geee said:

Authorities request help in desperate search for missing fighter jet

U.S. military officials are searching for a missing F-35 jet after a "mishap" caused its pilot to eject on Sunday afternoon.

Could be worse

 

 

 

[Geee]

30 minutes ago, Valin said:

Could be worse

100 Mill for one Plane. Can I have the price of a wheel???

[Valin]

14 minutes ago, Geee said:

100 Mill for one Plane. Can I have the price of a wheel???

 

Feb 17, 2023

Pako Benitez returns to the channel to talk with Ward about the unique history and capability of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

2 points 1. There is a philosophical between how America designs and builds/uses aircraft and how the Soviets/Russians did/do. *We want an air craft that does everything Deep Strike, Air Superiority Ground Support (A-10 being the exception, and the AF brass HATE IT) The Soviets/Russians design/build an air craft to do ONE thing. It does good, but that's it.

2. Modern combat air craft are really Really expensive, always have been going back to Post WWI. There is an old saying "Money is Cheap, Blood isn't."  *The reason the F6F Hellcat, the P47 Thunderbolt were so successful, and the A-10 is, is Survivability. They take a lickin and keep on tickin. And That Means MONEY.

As  for the F-35 IF it is 1/2 has good as  the builder says it'll be a Great air craft. And I suspect the last (or maybe penultimate) Manned Combat Aircraft.

[Valin]

Feb 17, 2020

16 Fighter Aircraft Differences: F-22 Raptor with F-35 Lightning II The latest and greatest products of the U.S. Air Force and its contractors are the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lightning II. They are alike in so many different ways, but what makes them special is what sets them apart. Here is a list of areas where the F-22 and the F-35 differ.

[Geee]

US Military sets up missing jet hotline for missing $80 million F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter as Marine Corps issues two-day stand-down for all units after pilot ejected over South Carolina

• A Marine Corps pilot safely ejected from a fighter jet over North Charleston on Sunday afternoon but his $80 million aircraft remains missing 
• Joint Base Charleston asked the public to call if they have 'any information'
• An F-35 has a range of up to 1,200 miles but it's unclear how much fuel was in it
• 

[Geee]

US Search for missing F-35 Lightning II fighter jet continues after pilot ejects during 'mishap'

The F-35 is suspected to have crashed north of the Air Force base

 

U.S. military officials are searching for a missing F-35 jet after a "mishap" caused its pilot to eject on Sunday afternoon.

 

Joint Base Charleston said on Facebook that the aircraft was a Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II belonging to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. The pilot ejected safely and was transported to a local medical center.

The base is working with Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort to help locate the missing aircraft. Emergency response teams have been deployed to find the jet.

"Based on the jet’s last-known position and in coordination with the FAA, we are focusing our attention north of JB Charleston, around Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion," Joint Base Charleston said in a statement on Facebook.

[Geee]

How did it take the Pentagon 28 HOURS to find missing F-35 that had crashed in a field 80 miles from base? Mystery surrounds loss of $80M stealth fighter - as unearthed study raised fears jet could be HACKED by enemy

[Valin]

Okay, let's talk about that missing/crashed F-35
Jazz Shaw

September 19, 2023

When this story first began going viral on social media yesterday, I didn’t jump in immediately to write anything about it. My reason, along with many others who were commenting, was that I was honestly waiting for the big reveal when we would learn that the entire thing was a hoax. It simply sounded close to impossible. A pair of pilots in F-35 Lightning II stealth combat aircraft were flying side-by-side over the Carolinas when one of the pilots encountered some sort of undisclosed anomalous event, leading him to eject from the aircraft and parachute into a residential area below. Yet his plane kept flying by itself and before long, the military announced that our F-35s are apparently so stealthy that they couldn’t even locate it. As of this morning, however, the wreckage has been found in Williamsburg County, South Carolina, and the pilot is being cared for in a local hospital and is expected to be okay. But hoo boy… there are still so many questions about this bizarre event that are begging for answers. (Associated Press)

(Snip)

Perhaps we’ll learn the answers to these questions when the investigation is complete. Then again, given the secrecy surrounding the entire program, we may never be told anything more and the incident will eventually fall down the memory hole. But it certainly spiced up an otherwise drab news cycle on Monday. While it was unfolding, the usual crew on social media was having fun with the event, including one person who quickly claimed to have not only found the jet but had put it up for sale on Craigslist. I’ll confess that I got a chuckle out of that one.

John Greenewald, Jr.

 

@blackvaultcom

 

Found it. Craigslist. Who would've guessed?

__________________________________________________________

[Geee]

[Geee]

The Babylon Bee

@TheBabylonBee

Military Personnel Seen Wandering Forest Pressing Button On F-35 Key Fob https://buff.ly/3t5TajB

[Valin]

All I can say is that pilots career is (probably) over.  Even if he didn't do  anything wrong...its still over.

[Geee]

These guys are really breaking me up today :

 

 

The Babylon Bee

@TheBabylonBee

Bad Luck: Military Announces Lost F-35 Was Carrying Epstein Client List https://buff.ly/3LpIl2g

[Valin]

 

[Valin]

 

[Geee]

Pentagon’s $1.7T F-35 jets have ‘maintenance issues,’ finish missions barely half the time: feds

The US military is set to spend at least $1.7 trillion on nearly 2,500 F-35 fighter jets that have “costly maintenance issues” — and have a coin flip chance of completing their missions, according to a new government report released Thursday.

The F-35 air fleet was included as a line item in last year’s annual defense budget, but the Pentagon remains “behind schedule” in maintaining the fighter jets, the Government Accountability Office found.

The GAO report also showed the $100-million-apiece F-35s are capable of performing missions just 55% of the time, and more than 10,000 of the aircraft have been grounded for repairs. Just 450 are currently fielded.

It also cited delays in “setting up military service depots — facilities to complete the most complex repairs,” “inadequate equipment to keep aircraft operational” and “maintenance and supply delays affecting aircraft readiness.”

[Valin]

3 hours ago, Geee said:

Pentagon’s $1.7T F-35 jets have ‘maintenance issues,’ finish missions barely half the time: feds

The US military is set to spend at least $1.7 trillion on nearly 2,500 F-35 fighter jets that have “costly maintenance issues” — and have a coin flip chance of completing their missions, according to a new government report released Thursday.

You would think by the time a weapons system goes into service all these glichs would have been found and worked out ALAS this is not the case, in fact its the norm. Examples On Request.

[Geee]

15 minutes ago, Valin said:

all these glichs would have been found and worked out ALAS this is not the case, in fact its the norm. Examples On Request.

You could replace the word weapons with voting 

[Valin]

18 minutes ago, Geee said:

You could replace the word weapons with voting 

 

 

Examples On Request.

[Valin]

ep 22, 2023 #F35 #SouthCarolina #NBCNews

“I guess we’ve got a pilot in our house, and he says he got ejected.” That was the 911 call received in Charleston County, South Carolina, after an F-35B Lightning II fighter jet crashed Sunday, according to audio released by the county government.