Navy Recovers F-35C Sunk In South China Sea In ‘Landing Mishap’

The aircraft was hoisted by a crane from a depth of 12,400 feet in the South China Sea, the Navy said.

Friday, March 04, 2022 at 02:43 PM ET

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A Navy pilot ejected from the F-35C Lightning II during the incident and was recovered from the water by a U.S. military helicopter. [Courtesy: U.S. Navy]

Key Takeaways:

The U.S. Navy successfully recovered an F-35C Lightning II fighter jet that went down in the South China Sea earlier this year.
The aircraft was retrieved from a depth of approximately 12,400 feet using specialized equipment and a diving support construction vessel (DSCV) Picasso.
A key priority for the Navy was to recover the advanced stealth fighter to prevent other countries, particularly China, from accessing its technology and potentially making territorial claims.
The recovery operation was completed within 37 days of the incident, and the F-35 will now be inspected as part of an ongoing investigation.

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The U.S. Navy has successfully recovered a F-35C Lightning II that went down into the South China Sea in a “landing mishap” earlier this year.

U.S. 7th Fleet’s Task Force (CTF) 75 and Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) launched the salvage effort in late January after a Navy pilot ejected during a routine flight operation aboard the USS Carl Vinson and the fighter jet assigned to the Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2 plunged into the ocean.