UK F-35B Lost
;-)
From the Daily Telegraph today :-
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/202...ttered-pieces/
The RAF F-35 jet recovered from the Mediterranean seabed was found shattered into multiple pieces.
The stealth fighter that crashed during an attempted take-off from HMS Queen Elizabeth last month was recovered after a multinational operation involving US and Italian forces.
A spokesman for the MoD said the wreckage had broken into multiple pieces and was found in “significant large parts”.
All sensitive equipment and aircraft parts had been secured, the spokesman confirmed.
The loss of the jet in the Mediterranean Sea prompted a desperate three-week search to ensure sensitive technology did not fall into Russian hands.
A member of the crew, arrested in relation to the unauthorised release of footage of the crash, has been flown back to the UK.
An MoD spokesman said Royal Navy warships worked with the Italian Navy and US and Italian salvage vessels to retrieve the jet.
RAF personnel embarked on the salvage vessels throughout the recovery operation.
The Telegraph understands the Defence Safety Authority has convened an investigation and will determine where the aircraft wreckage will be taken.
Given the force of impact as the jet toppled off the front of HMS Queen Elizabeth, it is likely the lift-fan door, open on take-off to provide downward thrust, would have broken away when the aircraft hit the water.
The wheels and landing gear bay doors, which would also have been open for the launch, could also have snapped off.
Justin Bronk, of the Royal United Services Institute, said the fact the crashed aircraft was one of the newer F-35Bs in the UK fleet, meant it was a “greater loss”.
The numerous technical elements of the F-35 programme have developed at differing rates, meaning the older jets have already been overtaken in some areas by newer airframes and need to be updated.
The crashed aircraft, tail number ZM152, first flew in June 2019 and therefore had “significantly lower” upgrade requirements than the older jets in the fleet.
Mr Bronk said: “The cost to make existing F-35 airframes fully Block IV capable (more power, cooling, processing power, some upgraded sensors etc) is higher the older an airframe is because the really early production airframes need a lot of internal work compared to newer ones.”
An MoD spokesman said: “Operations to recover the UK F-35 in the Mediterranean Sea have successfully concluded.
“We extend our thanks to our NATO allies Italy and the United States of America for their support during the recovery operation.”
The stealth fighter that crashed during an attempted take-off from HMS Queen Elizabeth last month was recovered after a multinational operation involving US and Italian forces.
A spokesman for the MoD said the wreckage had broken into multiple pieces and was found in “significant large parts”.
All sensitive equipment and aircraft parts had been secured, the spokesman confirmed.
The loss of the jet in the Mediterranean Sea prompted a desperate three-week search to ensure sensitive technology did not fall into Russian hands.
A member of the crew, arrested in relation to the unauthorised release of footage of the crash, has been flown back to the UK.
An MoD spokesman said Royal Navy warships worked with the Italian Navy and US and Italian salvage vessels to retrieve the jet.
RAF personnel embarked on the salvage vessels throughout the recovery operation.
The Telegraph understands the Defence Safety Authority has convened an investigation and will determine where the aircraft wreckage will be taken.
Given the force of impact as the jet toppled off the front of HMS Queen Elizabeth, it is likely the lift-fan door, open on take-off to provide downward thrust, would have broken away when the aircraft hit the water.
The wheels and landing gear bay doors, which would also have been open for the launch, could also have snapped off.
Cause of the crash still to be determined
The £100 million jet crashed last month during a routine flight. The cause of the crash has yet to be determined but it is thought a plastic covering, designed to keep debris out of the engine intake vents, had been left on the jet and ingested by the aircraft causing the engines to fail.Justin Bronk, of the Royal United Services Institute, said the fact the crashed aircraft was one of the newer F-35Bs in the UK fleet, meant it was a “greater loss”.
The numerous technical elements of the F-35 programme have developed at differing rates, meaning the older jets have already been overtaken in some areas by newer airframes and need to be updated.
The crashed aircraft, tail number ZM152, first flew in June 2019 and therefore had “significantly lower” upgrade requirements than the older jets in the fleet.
Mr Bronk said: “The cost to make existing F-35 airframes fully Block IV capable (more power, cooling, processing power, some upgraded sensors etc) is higher the older an airframe is because the really early production airframes need a lot of internal work compared to newer ones.”
An MoD spokesman said: “Operations to recover the UK F-35 in the Mediterranean Sea have successfully concluded.
“We extend our thanks to our NATO allies Italy and the United States of America for their support during the recovery operation.”
Now that the offending ac has been fished out of the oggin, should the title of this thread be changed, as ‘tis no longer lost?
Ah the infamous 'conduct prejudicial' the last resort catchall of the military legal system. I would have thought it had been removed from the list in this day and age.
Suspicion breeds confidence
Strange how whistle blowers are praised as heroes in the media for exposing what would otherwise be covered up. In the military however it is akin to treachery demanding the strongest punishment possible sanctions.
Given the force of impact as the jet toppled off the front of HMS Queen Elizabeth, it is likely the lift-fan door, open on take-off to provide downward thrust, would have broken away when the aircraft hit the water.
The wheels and landing gear bay doors, which would also have been open for the launch, could also have snapped off.
The wheels and landing gear bay doors, which would also have been open for the launch, could also have snapped off.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Let alone being run over by a 65,000 ton aircraft carrier if it didn’t sink immediately.
One of the disadvantages of not having an angled deck…..
One of the disadvantages of not having an angled deck…..
Last edited by SATCOS WHIPPING BOY; 9th Dec 2021 at 11:50.
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Hanging off the end of a thread
Posts: 32,752
Received 2,731 Likes
on
1,163 Posts
I wonder how fast it sank and did the ship hit it on its way over it.
Thought police antagonist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Where I always have been...firmly in the real world
Posts: 1,371
Received 98 Likes
on
69 Posts
QE due alongside Pompey this afternoon.
Looks like the absence of one jet has given her a pronounced list to starboard . . .
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan...shire-59593047
Looks like the absence of one jet has given her a pronounced list to starboard . . .
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan...shire-59593047
