Source: World Wide Web
The British Ministry of Defence confirmed on November 17 that a British Air Force F-35B fighter jet crashed in the Mediterranean Sea shortly after taking off from the "Queen Elizabeth" aircraft carrier on the same day, and the pilot was rescued. The next question is, what about the wreckage of the fighter jet that fell into the sea? The latest reports in the British media said that the fighter jet fell into international waters, and a "salvage race" has begun, and the British army has used special forces and mini-submarines to do so.
The British "Daily Mail" website reported on November 18 that the British Royal Navy's submarines and special forces are engaged in an "underwater race" with Russia to salvage the British F-35B fighter jet worth 100 million pounds and the highest stealth technical secrets.
The British aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth, which carries F-35B fighter jets
According to reports, the F-35B fighter, piloted by a RAF pilot, fell into the sea shortly after takeoff while participating in a "routine exercise" aboard the aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth, and the pilot successfully catapulted. The fighter jet plunged into international waters, triggering a scramble to search and salvage the plane before Russia could find the wreckage. This is the first time an F-35B fighter jet has crashed in such an area.
The U.S.-designed aircraft is equipped with a variety of advanced technologies, including highly classified radar and sensors. They are all very sensitive because with their F-35 fighter jets they can fly "stealth" over enemy airspace at supersonic speeds. The location of the F-35B's descent was determined on the afternoon of November 17, and until it was salvaged out of the water, the location was controlled by a dive safety team composed of American and British armies. It is reported that this secret operation involved divers and miniature submarines.
The report quoted retired British Rear Admiral Chris Parry as saying: "Although there will be relevant investigations to determine the exact cause of the crash, it seems that the cause of this accident is an engine failure." He said that despite the F-35B fighter's good safety record, it is inevitable that some high-performance fighters will have problems at some stage when they fly in very harsh maritime environments.
In its briefing, the British Ministry of Defence insisted that there was "no hostility (factor)" in the crash and that the focus of the investigation would be on technical issues or human error.
The report mentioned that the real cost of the F-35B fighter jet delivered to the UK this year is more than 150 million pounds, including "additional costs" such as software upgrades and spare parts. But there are still concerns that the fighter's software system is vulnerable to cyberattacks, and that britain cannot conduct independent tests of the fighter in this regard.
F-35B fighter jets land on the aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth
It is reported that the United Kingdom has received a total of 24 F-35 series fighters, which is not enough to meet the needs of the carrier-based aircraft deployment of the two new aircraft carriers. The "Queen Elizabeth" aircraft carrier adopts a "mix-and-match" approach to the deployment of carrier-based aircraft, which currently carries a total of 8 F-35B fighters from RAF 617 Squadron and 10 F-35B fighters from Vic Island Avengers Squadron of US Marine Corps 211 Squadron. Compared with British pilots, American pilots have more experience in flying F-35B fighter jets on board, and the fighters that crashed belong to the Royal Air Force.
The U.S. Naval Academy (USNI) website reported on the 18th that the crash was the third crash of the F-35B fighter, the first two occurred in 2020 and 2018, and the accidents were all F-35B fighters of the US Marine Corps.
CNN reported on November 18 that the last crash of the F-35 series fighter jets occurred in April 2019, when a Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-35A fighter jet crashed in the Pacific Ocean in northern Japan, killing the pilot. At the time, there was speculation that the wreckage of the F-35 fighter could become a "target" for potential rivals such as Russia and China, and that the advanced technology of the fighter might be acquired. But then both the United States and Japan refuted the speculation.