US: F-35 Fighter Jet Suffers First Crash in South Carolina

The crash occurred near Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort on Friday. The pilot ejected before the crash and is being evaluated for injury, according to a statement from the US Marine Corps, Xinhua news agency reported.

Washington (US): The United States military suffered its first crash in its hugely expensive F-35 fighter jet programme on Friday. The fighter jet crashed in South Carolina. No casualty has been reported so far. The pilot in the fighter jet reportedly ejected before the crash.

The crash occurred near Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort on Friday. The pilot ejected before the crash and is being evaluated for injury, according to a statement from the US Marine Corps, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the reports, the US military has launched an investigation into the incident that marks the first crash of the fighter jet. The jet costs more than $100 million, as per the reports.

The F-35 jet crash comes a day after the first F-35 airstrike by the US against Taliban targets in Afghanistan, and hours after the Pentagon announced that it had awarded Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of F-35, with a new batch of F-35s, the BBC reported.

The F-35 stealth jet has three variants — F-35A, F-35B, and F-35C. F-35A is designed for the US Air Force, F-35B for Marine Corps, and F-35C for the Navy. The F-35B is the only model with short take-off and vertical landing abilities.