The US Navy has confirmed that viral video and photographs showing the crash of an F-35 in the South China Sea are real. Task and Purpose. The F-35C was on approach to the carrier USS Carl Vinson when it crashed. Seven sailors were injured in the crash including the pilot who managed to eject. Photos show the crashed F-35 floating in the water before it sank. The cause of the crash is unknown with the Navy saying there is an active investigation. The Navy will also attempt to salvage the aircraft.
My Comment:
I am guessing that if the Navy finds out who leaked these videos and pictures they are going to be in big trouble. They have little tolerance for leaking secrets in the first place but in this case the incident is probably somewhat embarrassing to the Navy. The book will be thrown at them if they are found.
I have no idea why this F-35 crashed. It could be anything from a mechanical failure, to pilot error to a bad gust of win. Carrier operations are always fraught with danger and losing aircraft is not that uncommon. It is, after all, extremely difficult to land a plane on a moving object.
Much of the media coverage of this case says that the Chinese are going to try and salvage the wreck though they have said they have no plans to do so. I tend to believe that since they probably have all the technical data and information on the F-35 they need. After all the J-31Gyrfalcon is already a rip-off of the F-35, only with a second engine as an improvement. Why secure a crashed model of a plane that is arguably worse than your own homegrown model?
The only other thing I have to say with this one is that I am glad that the video and photos leaked. Even though the sailor(s) who released it will almost certainly be in trouble it is important for Americans to see what there tax dollars are going to. The F-35 has been a boondoggle from the start and we should be asking questions about that. Perhaps this crash was related to that and perhaps it is not but more data is always welcome...
No comments:
Post a Comment