Since its entry into service, the F-35 fighter has been criticized by the outside world for its very low proper rate and very high failure rate, and this fighter has been frequently exposed in the early days of service, which directly led to a rise in production costs, and the production cost of the basic model F-35A used by the Air Force at its peak even reached 330 million US dollars. Although the production cost has fallen, the problems continue to exist. Whether it is the three major services that the United States is using this fighter, or the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force, it has become a new victim in recent days.
(South Korean fighter jets hit the ground with their faces; pictured is a simulated footage of the F-35A landing on a foam-covered runway with its belly.)
According to the latest report from Yonhap News Agency, just a few days ago, an F-35A fighter of the South Korean Air Force could not be deployed due to a failure of the avionics system. In the end, the only option was to use the belly of the aircraft to wipe the ground to force the landing, fortunately, the pilot was not injured. In this regard, CNN quoted military experts as saying that such a landing method is unprecedented for such a fighter with a production cost of more than $100 million. The South Korean Air Force had also received the pilot's early warning, so it sprayed a large amount of special foam on the runway before the plane landed, which saved the pilot's life. The ROK Air Force currently plans to suspend the flight of all F-35A fighter jets until the cause of the accident is ascertained.
(ROK Air Force F-35A)
To date, South Korea has bought a total of 40 F-35A fighter jets from the Americans, at a unit price of about $160 million. Lockheed Martin rolled off the line last of the 40 F-35As on its production line as early as last August, and the fighter was officially delivered to the South Korean Air Force late last year. As a result, South Korea became the first overseas user in the United States to complete all orders to date. The move makes South Korea the country that actually has the largest number of F-35 fighters in the entire Asian range. The South Korean Air Force has also become a powerful air force that is completely disproportionate to the size of its country.
But then again, although the F-35A can help the ROK Air Force gain the advantage of offensive operations with its large range, large bomb load and excellent stealth, it is very backward in the face of high-speed interception missions, not to mention that every time this fighter takes off, it will bring safety risks to South Korean pilots.
In recent years, the F-35 series of fighter jets has been a problematic one. In April 2019, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-35A fighter, which had just formed combat strength, crashed into the sea near Aomori Prefecture, and the body of the pilot has not been found so far. In May 2020, the United States crashed two fifth-generation stealth fighters in a row in five days, one of which was the F-35 belonging to Egreen Air Force Base in Florida. In March 2021, two more Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-35As made an emergency landing at Aomori Airport due to the abnormal warning lights on the fuselage.
(British F-35B crashed into the sea)
In addition to the accidents caused by the problems of the fighter itself, there have also been total loss accidents caused by human low-level errors on this fighter, such as the recent fall of an F-35B carrier-based fighter of the British Royal Navy in the Mediterranean waters, because the waterproof cover on the fighter's body could not be opened before take-off according to the procedure, and the direct loss was more than 100 million pounds.
(The F-35A that fell into the sea in Japan)
Since its inception, the fighter has had at least nine total losses. This accident rate has been close to the Indian Air Force's Su-30MKI multi-role fighter, and although the F-35 series of fighters has been delivered more than 720, it has only formed an initial combat capability in 11 services in 8 countries, and has not formed a full combat effectiveness. And because the problems on the fighter cannot be fundamentally solved, even in the Americans, it has not been able to enter the "Milestone C", that is, the full-speed mass production stage.
(The number of F-35 deployments is increasing, but its flaws cannot be completely solved, and the accuracy rate has not been up to standard.)
According to the US Air Force's own report, the fighter's mission capability rate (that is, the ability to perform at least one combat mission) has declined for three consecutive years, far from reaching the level of more than 80% required by the US military, and it is conceivable that there will be more accidents in the future F-35 fighter.