Posted on 09/18/2023 8:15:21 AM PDT by servo1969
Those F-35 stealth fighters must be even closer to invisible than I thought because the Marines lost one on Sunday and nobody can find it.
A Marine piloting the special vertical takeoff and landing version, the F-35B, suffered some kind of “mishap” and was forced to eject over South Carolina. He ejected safely. He’s fine. We can go on and laugh. The plane, however, was nowhere to be found. Weighing in at over 32,000 pounds even when it isn’t filled with jet fuel, you’d think the missing jet would be easy to find, but no.
There was genuine concern that the autopilot might have been on, meaning that there was an $80 million fighter jet gently cruising around over South Carolina with no pilot and no canopy. Sunday drivers, amirite?
So whoever runs the social media for Joint Base Charleston took to Twitter to ask for help finding the super-invisible stealth fighter.
*************
An early report from NBC noted that “The jet was left in autopilot mode so there’s a possibility it could still be airborne somewhere over South Carolina.” That was early Sunday evening. Surely, it’s run out of fuel by now. (Yes, and don’t call me Shirley.)
But no one seems to have seen or heard the thing crash.
(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...
China likely has it already. I suspect they got a hold of the ‘high tech’ (meaning GPS) navigation system and spoofed it to one of their many boats hanging out in the Atlantic. Once the pilot realized he had no control of plane (it was basically a remote-controlled drone at that point), he wisely bolted.
OK. As good an explanation as I have heard. 900 nm range gave it quite a distance to go into the Atlantic. I am wondering why they can’t track the aircraft by satellite.
Is the smoke plume stealth?
That's the way it works with my sunglasses.
I was thinking of something more in line with extreme sarcasm, Seinfeld-style (Call 1-800-WTF-FUBAR). But that’s just me. Come to think of it...”base defense operations” does sound like satire considering the reality of the military’s current state of “readiness”...lol.
The pilot was probably on that loco weed!
Maybe it will be like ... ‘Finders keepers’
I considered “Base Lost & Found”...................
Never know.
Hit the panic button on the key fob.
“Pa, I found me one of them stealthy planes”
“Yank the VIN off’n it, slap that’n on the truck under the dash and we’ll sell it”
“I considered “Base Lost & Found””
Lol!
What many don’t understand, the F-35 is designed to be invisible to radar. It is made of composite materials, not traditional metals.
This means when the pilot ejects, if nobody can actually see the aircraft from the ground, radar cannot detect it. That is one of its big selling points as a fighter jet.
What is worse, the F-35 is very vulnerable to lightning strikes which render its flight controls inoperative because the plane is operated by multiple computers. The Pentagon has quietly ordered these fighters NOT be operated near thunderstorms which cover a big part of the Earth’s skies.
My hunch is lightning disabled the jet’s controls, causing the “mishap,” forcing the pilot to eject. Then, the jet was too stealthy to be followed and found.
This super expensive fighter cannot be flown in bad weather and can easily be lost without a trace if the pilot ejects.
What morons would like to come forward and take credit for this massive boondoggle?
The UFO’s took it home to sell to an antique dealer.
This is out of a JAG or NCIS episode.
The Marines
Put up a notice,
“LOST or STOLEN or STRAYED!
One F-35 Stealth Fighter
SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN MISLAID.
LAST SEEN
WANDERING VAGUELY:
QUITE OF ITS OWN ACCORD,
THE PILOT GOT DOWN
THE PLANE’S NOT BEEN FOUND -
FORTY DOLLARS REWARD!”
[Inspired by: James James Morrison Morrison Poem - AA Milne]
Banacek.
VMFAT-501 Commanding Officer: Well... shit.
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