F-35 fighter plane: the program suffers its first crash

The US military suffered the first accident in its hugely expensive F-35 fighter jet program.

An F-35B jet dropped into South Carolina, the Marine Corps announced. The pilot was able to safely eject and there was no injury.

The Marines said in a statement that an investigation into the cause of the accident is ongoing.

The F-35 is the largest and most expensive weapons program of its kind in the world.

Global sales are expected to reach more than 3,000 aircraft and the program is expected to last between 30 and 40 years.

But the program has been criticized for both its cost and its combat effectiveness.

The aircraft involved in the incident would have cost about $ 100 million, although a new Pentagon contract announced Friday with a record number of 141 F-35 aircraft has reduced the cost to about $ 89.2 million by plane , according to Reuters. .

The model is one of three varieties of the F-35 series in operation.

On Thursday, the United States conducted its first operation using the F-35B against Taliban targets in Afghanistan, four months after the Israeli army announced that it had used the F-35A to conduct two strikes. distinct.

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

F-35: Why does his maker say he's so advanced

• Developed by Lockheed Martin and launched for the first time in 2006, the Hunter is primarily motivated by its versatility, which should serve in a unique design to the US Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy.
• Three variants: conventional takeoff (A); vertical take-off and landing (B) and catapult-based carriers (C)
• Stealth is clearly a key factor. Its cell and design materials allow pilots to enter areas without being detected by the radar.
• This gives it a small radar cross-section, which would allow it to engage enemy planes before they see it. A helmet-mounted display system means that the jet does not have to point to its target to fire weapons
• But it's mostly the sensors, communications and avionics that he's cheating the most: data is immediately shared with operational commanders, and pilots can track the enemy, corner radar and thwart attacks.