US Navy Stealth Fighter F-35C Crashes Near California Air Base, Pilot Ejects Safely

A US Navy F-35C fighter jet crashed on Wednesday (31 July) evening in central California, close to Naval Air Station Lemoore. The incident occurred at around 6:30 pm local time.

According to a CNN report, the pilot ejected in time and is reported safe. Emergency medical teams rushed to assist, while California Fire units also joined the response efforts. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Footage captured showed thick plumes of black smoke and flames billowing from farmland near the air station.

The jet involved was an F-35C, one of three variants of the cutting-edge F-35 Lightning II.

While the US Air Force operates the F-35A and the Marine Corps employs the short take-off, vertical landing F-35B, the F-35C is specifically engineered for aircraft carrier operations.

At an estimated cost of $100 million, the crash marks the second such incident this year. In January, an Air Force F-35A went down during a training mission at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, with that pilot also ejecting safely.

The F-35, built by Lockheed Martin, is regarded as one of the most advanced fifth-generation warplanes globally. Valued for its stealth and combat performance, the jet is central to the US military’s air power.

However, despite its technological prowess, the F-35 has faced mounting challenges, as seen in Thiruvananthapuram, where a F-35B jet was grounded for over a month due to technical glitches.

It returned to service only after a team of engineers from the UK flew in to carry out critical repairs and safety checks.

The prolonged grounding quickly became the subject of memes and sharp criticism, highlighting persistent concerns about the jet’s heavy maintenance demands and questions over its operational readiness.

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