A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II fighter jet crashed near the USMC air station in Beaufort County, South Carolina on Friday morn...
A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II fighter jet crashed near the USMC air station in Beaufort County, South Carolina on Friday morning.
The pilot safely ejected from the single seater fifth-generation fighter jet, during the training flight.
The incident marks the first crash of the F-35, since program start in 2001. The Marine Corps' variant, F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) fighter is designed to operate from austere bases and a range of air-capable ships near front-line combat zones.
The USMC was the first service to induct the F-35 into fleet, achieving initial operational capability (IOC) on July 31, 2015.
This is the second loss of an USMC F-35B, after losing the first in 2016 to an mid air onboard fire.
The aircraft, which cost more than $100 million, belonged to Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501, which trains Marine pilots for combat with the F-35.
Marine Corps intends to buy 353 F-35B.
The price for the latest lot of 141 aircraft agreed between Pentagon and Lockheed Martin has come down to less than $ 90 million each.
The B variant just marked its first-ever combat mission in the Middle East this week, striking a Taliban target while flying off the amphibious assault ship USS Essex.
