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(Reuters) – A US F-35B military combat aircraft crashed near the Marine Corps air base in Beaufort, South Carolina, for reasons under investigation, local law enforcement officials said. and US military.
The pilot, the only one aboard the boat, was safely ejected and was checked for injuries, said a Pentagon spokesman, adding that there were no more wounded.
The jet crashed just before noon local time. It was a Lockheed Martin F-35B, a short take-off / landing version of the F-35, said a US military official on condition of anonymity.
This was the first collision of an F-35 fighter since they became operational in 2006, said another military official, also on condition of anonymity. The incident on Friday also marked the first expulsion of a pilot from an F-35B, the official said.
Neither the military nor local officials immediately suggested the cause of the accident. Military officials said the accident was being investigated.
Lockheed returned Reuters to the military for comments on the incident.
The stealth fighter F-35B was used by the United States in combat this week for the first time against the Taliban in Afghanistan after taking off from an amphibious assault ship in the Arabian Sea.
In May, Israel was the first country to use the F-35 stealth fighter in combat.
The accident occurred the same day the Pentagon announced an $ 11.5 billion contract for 141 Lockheed F-35 fighter jets, which reduced the price of the most common version by 5.4%. of the stealthy plane.
The plane in the South Carolina crash was one of 245 US Army F-35 fighters, said a Pentagon official, and one of the 320 F-35s in service around the world.
According to the new deal signed Friday, the next deliveries of F-35B aircraft will cost about $ 115 million each, military officials told Reuters.
The F-35B is the most expensive of the three variants of the F-35, which also includes the conventional take-off and landing version of the F-35A and the F-35C, used on board aircraft carriers.
Lockheed is the # 1 US defense contractor.
(Report by Bernie Woodall in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Mike Stone in Washington, edited by Rosalba O & # 39; Brien)
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