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UPDATED: Navy Recovers Crashed F-35C From Depths of South China Sea
By: Sam LaGrone
March 3, 2022 9:57 AM • Updated: March 3, 2022 10:49 AM
A Navy F-35C on the deck of DSCV Picasso following a March 2, 2022 recovery from 12,400 feet under the South China Sea. US Navy Photo
This post was updated with a photo from U.S.7th Fleet.
Navy salvage crews operating from a commercial salvage ship have recovered the F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter that suffered a ramp strike on the deck of USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70 and crashed into the South China Sea, a U.S. 7th Fleet spokesman confirmed to USNI News on Thursday.
The F-35C, assigned to the “Argonauts” of VFA-147 Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA), was plucked from the floor of the South China Sea with Navy personnel aboard the offshore vessel DSCV Picasso, which had departed Okinawa on Feb. 23, according to the service.
The Navy sent personnel from Task Force 75, Naval Sea Systems Command and NAVSEA’s Supervisor of Salvage and Diving aboard Picasso – a vessel designed for deep diving and salvage for offshore industries, according to owner Ultra Deep Solutions.
“The wreckage was recovered from a depth of approximately 12,400-feet by a team from CTF 75 and the NAVSEA’s Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV) embarked on the diving support construction vessel (DSCV) Picasso,” reads a statement from U.S. 7th Fleet.
“The aircraft was recovered using a CURV-21, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), which attached specialized rigging and lift lines to the aircraft. The ship’s crane lifting hook was then lowered to the seafloor and connected to the rigging, and then lifted the aircraft to the surface and hoisted it onboard Picasso.”
Recovery of the aircraft eases fears that China or Russia could seize the aircraft, either to replicate the technology aboard or discover ways to defeat the fighters.
While the Navy did not specify where the recovery operations occurred, the Japan Coast Guard issued a notice to mariners in late January warning of salvage operations about 170 miles west of the Philippine island of Luzon.
Notice to Mariners
The recovery of the F-35C follows a similar operation in which the United Kingdom, Italy and the United States mounted a salvage operation last year for a U.K. F-35B that crashed into the Mediterranean following a take-off from carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08).
According to a video of the ramp strike that was leaked on social media, the F-35C was too low in its approach to the flight deck and struck the rear of the carrier, skidding on its belly and rotating 180 degrees while heading down the angled deck of Vinson.
The fighter slid across the deck at about 95 miles per hour before falling off the edge. The crash, which occurred on Jan. 24, injured seven sailors, including the pilot who was able to eject from the fighter before it hit the water.
The crew of Vinson was able to quickly clear the flight during a combined exercise with fighters from USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). Some fighters were able to refuel on Lincoln before returning to Vinson the same day.
“One of the super rewarding …. feelings or emotions, results of the, specifically the F-35 crash, but also the…other incidents [is] the way the ship’s crew and the air wing came together and provided the perfect response,” Capt. P. Scott Miller, told USNI News on a recent embark aboard Vinson. “Our entire training track, where we do our workups with all of the training organizations back home – prepared us perfectly.”
The cause of the crash is currently under investigation.
An F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter following a crash on USS Carl Vinson CVN-70) on Jan. 24, 2022.
Some people are to stupid to understand something so simple.How could someone think The US doesn't have a plan if these things go down
Yeah... what was it you said?
Big ocean, little drone?
Dude... hit the books and get off of Tic-Toc.
Reminds me of these clowns. Yeah, because towing a bunch of scrap so close to one another that you can't even get a driver in proves they're in "operating condition"
Recovery of the aircraft eases fears that China or Russia could seize the aircraft, either to replicate the technology aboard or discover ways to defeat the fighters.
And why wouldn't they brick the software on the F-35 as it skidded off the flight deck? You don't think they can do that with those too?
But this was only a $30 Million drone.
... fucking stupid.
And why wouldn't they brick the software on the F-35 as it skidded off the flight deck? You don't think they can do that with those too?
But this was only a $30 Million drone.
... fucking stupid.
They do, and its was enacted.Some people are to stupid to understand something so simple.How could someone think The US doesn't have a plan if these things go down
So what. Did they turn it to dust?
No. This isn't a video game where you bleep something into non-existence.
There's hundreds of components on that thing that weren't destroyed and Russia is studying now.
You're fucking clueless dude.
No wonder you need help from your little cadre of friends down here all the time.
Safety in numbers for idiots.
Uh-oh…someone is gonna get fuuuuuucked uuuuuuuup.
https://watcher.guru/news/saudi-ara...india-pakistan-and-four-central-asian-nations
https://watcher.guru/news/saudi-ara...india-pakistan-and-four-central-asian-nations
