The pilot of an F-35B safely ejected after the aircraft crashed in New Mexico on Tuesday, according to Lockheed Martin, the prime F-35 contractor.
Though the F-35 is flown by the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, the F-35B was a development test aircraft owned by Lockheed Martin, a defense official said.
“An F-35B enroute from Fort Worth, Texas, to Edwards Air Force Base, California, crashed after a refueling stop at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico,” Lockheed Martin said in a statement. “The pilot safely ejected. Safety is our priority, and we will follow appropriate investigation protocol.”
Lockheed builds the F-35 in Fort Worth.
A Government Accountability Office report released in April called the F-35 the Pentagon’s “most
ambitious and costly weapon system”. The three services currently fly about 630 F-35s, with plans to buy about 2,500 total by the mid-2040s, the GAO said. The F-35B is used only by the Marine Corps. The F-35A is used
by the Air Force while both the Marines and the Navy fly the F-35C. The Pentagon plans to spend $2 trillion to buy and maintain the fleet before the last one’s scheduled retirement in 2088.
KOB-TV in Albuquerque reported that the pilot was conscious and breathing and taken to a hospital.
No information was immediately available about what may have caused the crash.
The F-35B is a Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing aircraft that is used by the Marine Corps.
This is a breaking news story. It will be updated as more information becomes available.