Fearing Russia's First, Britain Hastened to Take F-35 Stealth Jets that crashed in the Sea
LONDON - The Royal Navy is moving swiftly to locate and evacuate the remains of an F-35 stealth fighter jet that crashed in the Mediterranean Sea. They are afraid that Russia will take it first and get the secrets of the £100 million (Rp1.9 trillion) fighter aircraft technology.
A British pilot is dramatically ejected from the cockpit seat of an F-35B Lightning II during a routine exercise over the Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday (11/17/2021). The plane is believed to have crashed into the sea, but the wreckage still contains highly sensitive features.
The pilot who survived the incident was part of the carrier strike force HMS Queen Elizabeth, training for war.
The technology on the plane includes a secret radar and sensors that allow the F-35B to fly at supersonic speeds without being seen.
It is not known if the F-35B has crashed before in international waters but at the same time it is very likely that China learned of its secret technology through spies.
It is the British Royal Air Force (RAF)'s most advanced aircraft capable of vertical landing and is the first British F-35 to be lost.
The British Armed Forces have been rushing since Wednesday night to recover pieces of the fighter planes that were destroyed for fear of falling into enemy hands, such as the Russian Navy.
The plane's wreckage was found Wednesday evening and is being protected by an Anglo-US dive team until it can be removed by the Navy.
The pilot is recovering and returning to the carrier after the accident which occurred at 10am on Wednesday.
He was rescued after an emergency operation was launched.
A Ministry of Defense spokesman said: "A British F35 pilot from HMS Queen Elizabeth was ejected during routine flight operations over the Mediterranean this morning."
"The pilot has been safely returned to the ship and an investigation has begun, so it is inappropriate to comment further at this time."
No other ship was involved in the incident and the Ministry of Defense has ordered an investigation into what went wrong.
There are about eight F-35B fighter jets on board HMS Queen Elizabeth, a £3.5 billion aircraft carrier that is Britain's largest warship.
A source told The Mirror that the pilot was rescued by "assets launched from HMS Queen Elizabeth" meaning he was likely evacuated from the sea by a Merlin helicopter.
It is believed he had undergone a medical examination but was not in the ship's hospital.
According to The Mirror, the fighter plane was destroyed after sliding at high speed into the sea water.
At the time of the crash, HMS Queen Elizabeth was in the Eastern Mediterranean and on its way back to England.
It is not known how far the plane was from its mother ship when it went into trouble.
This was the first major mission for the carrier, which was accompanied by a number of other RAF warships.
There were eight British F-35Bs aboard HMS Elizabeth before the crash and ten US Marine Corps F-35Bs.
Sources say it is "early days" in the investigation and the devastating devastation remains a mystery.
"It could have been a seagull attack, at the moment we don't know," a British military source said.
"But the most important thing is that the pilot is safe," he said. "It is not yet known whether there was a fault on the plane."
Another source told The Mirror that another F-35B flight in the UK from RAF Marham was not suspended.