F-35 crashes in training exercise

The US military has suffered the first crash in its hugely expensive F-35 fighter jet programme.

Background

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole fighters. The fifth-generation combat aircraft is designed to perform ground attack and air superiority missions. The fighter, first flown in 2006, was developed by Lockheed Martin as a versatile aircraft that could be used by the US Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy

It has three variants: conventional take-off and landing (A); short take-off and vertical landing (B) and carrier-based catapult (C).

The F-35's nine partner countries are the United States, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Suppliers in each country are producing F-35 components for all aircraft, not just those for their country.  The total cost of the F-35 program has increased from $233bn in 2001 to $391bn — making it the US Department of Defence’s "most costly and ambitious acquisition program"

 On 2 August 2016, the U.S. Air Force declared its first squadron of F-35A fighters combat-ready.

Analysis

A F-35B jet came down during a training exercise, the Marine Corps has reported. The pilot managed to safely eject and there were no injuries. The plane was from the Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina.

The Marines said in a statement that an investigation into the cause of the crash is underway. The F-35 is the largest and most expensive weapons programme of its type in the world.

Global sales are projected at more than 3,000 aircraft, and the programme is likely to last for some 30 to 40 years. However, the programme has been criticised both for cost and combat effectiveness.

The jet involved in the incident is believed to have cost around $100m (£77m), although a new Pentagon contract announced on Friday for a record 141 F-35 jets has brought the cost down to around $89.2m per aircraft. The model is one of three varieties of the F-35 series in operation.

Recently, the US carried out its first operation using the F-35B against Taliban targets in Afghanistan, four months after the Israeli military announced it had used the F-35A to carry out two separate strikes.

US President Trump has repeatedly praised the F-35, saying that the enemy "cannot see" it. While the jet is not invisible, its primary contractor Lockheed Martin has said its "advanced stealth" enables it to avoid radar.

Stealth is clearly a key factor; its airframe and design materials allow pilots to penetrate areas without being detected by radar. This gives it a small radar cross-section, which is said to allow it to engage enemy aircraft before they see it. A helmet-mounted display system means the jet does not have to be pointing at its target to fire weapons

However, it's the sensors, communications and avionics that it trumpets the most - data is shared immediately with operational commanders, and pilots can track the enemy, jam radars and thwart attacks

The manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, has claimed that the per-unit price of the plane will fall gradually as more countries are cleared for sale, but it stands at approximately $90 million per plane as of October 2018.

Assessment

Our assessment is that the first crash of a new military plane provides critical feedback to the manufacturers for potential improvements. Lockheed Martin will look to study the causes for the crash once the investigation is done, and will prepare an improvement for future planes. We believe that the crash comes at a crucial time for the F-35 as it just concluded its first combat operation in Afghanistan in the last week of September.