Posted on 10/21/2020 8:37:13 AM PDT by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
Multiple departments battled a small brush fire that was sparked when an F/A-18E Super Hornet went down in Kern County after "a mishap during a routine training flight," according to the Navy.
A Navy fighter jet pilot was able to safely eject from his plane before it crashed in California on Tuesday.
The single-seat F/A-18E Super Hornet went down shortly before 10:30 a.m. in an open field in eastern Kern County, Cmdr. Zachary Harrell, a Naval Air Forces spokesman, told ABC News. Crews from multiple departments battled a small brush fire that erupted from the crash.
The jet had originated from Naval Air Station Lemoore, a military installation in California's Central Valley, and the accident happened when the aircraft "experienced a mishap during a routine training flight," an online update from the naval station stated. It's not clear if the plane was carrying ordinance when it went down.
Harrell told ABC News that the pilot was in good and stable condition following the crash. He was being taken to an area hospital for treatment, Harrell added.
The Kern County Board of Supervisors was meeting when the accident happened. As soon as news of the crash broke, District 1 Supervisor Mick Gleason, who represents China Lake's district, left the meeting in order to respond to the incident, KERO-TV reports.
These aircraft are getting old and need replacing...............
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Glad the pilot is OK.
Fly Navy!
Ordnance.
I’d need to know a little more about the accident before I’d agree with that. The Air Force operates fighters much older than any F/A-18E. That said, Navy fighters take a bit more of a beating operating off carriers. The air frames age faster.
Salt water and salt air take their toll..................
The Navy’s oldest ones are 21 years old. The Marines are fly 35+ year old Hornets and Harriers. Marine Air all the way.
We always get the short end of the stick..............
I have read the F-35 is a budget debacle. Can someone “in the know” tell me if the VTOL marine and modified Navy versions with their hooks and strengthened landing gear will replace these old Hornets and Harriers like they are supposed to?
I’ve read that individual aircraft withing a Navy/Marine squadron have their individual quirks. That some of the airframes are “bent” either from too many rough landings or pulling too many high-gee turns. Apparently they fly a bit “bent” and can’t be easily trimmed. In USAF squadrons, on the other hand, one aircraft flies pretty much like another.
STOVL (Short Takeoff, Vertical Landing) is fine for unimproved runways & small carriers that lack catapult assist for launch. There is another tactical aircraft program out there for a 6th Gen fighter (whatever that is). Supposedly there’s a flying prototype already. The accelerated pace of the program may mean that the Navy will buy-pass a large chunk of the planned purchase for the F-35C.
This is speculation from industry sources. The USAF & USN historically have never played ‘nice’ on joint programs (unless the Navy gets its way). So who knows if the Navy will end up even being a part of that program as it moves toward service acceptance.
Gotcha, that explains it!
Yes, they will. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA4vpvQR_m0) People need to understand, all the anti-F-35 crap is Russian propaganda, which they are very good and effective at. The US media loves to carry their water. F-35s are doing carrier operations right now quite successfully. Why is Russia (and probably China) doing this? Because they’re terrified of the F-35 and have no counter to it. They have jets that they claim are stealthy. They may be stealthier than an average MiG but nothing like a F-22 or F-35. Pro-tip: canard foreplanes utterly destroy your stealth characteristics, these supposedly stealthy Russian and Chinese jets all have them.
A good example is the neutron bomb. Russia admits today that the killing and dismantling of the US neutron bomb program is “a propaganda war that we won”. They are very good at that.
Thans for the prompt responses.
No problem. Notice that the video is from 2014. Yes, they had some problems up front, some oh-sh#& moments that somebody should’ve thought of. But that’s why you do testing and that’s all been worked out now, for over 5 years.
British Carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth Underway Ahead of Training with Marine F-35s
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