'The kinds of precautions and operations that we are undertaking at the moment are designed at least in part to ensure that the technology of the F-35 remains as confidential as you would like it to be. 'We are aware of Russian undersea capabilities, and you are quite right to identify them as being state of the art. Clearly the swift recovery of the aircraft is what we would like to do and we are working closely with allies on the mechanics of that. 'The recovery of the flight data recorder and the wreckage are really vital for an accurate investigation to determine the causes of the crash. It would be premature of me to comment on the reasons for the accident. We are hopefully that he will be absolutely fine. The official told the Commons Defence Committee yesterday: 'The pilot was recovered safely and is still undergoing medical checks. He declined to reveal why the accident occurred. National Security Adviser Sir Stephen Lovegrove told MPs that a cautious approach will be taken over its recovery as Moscow is likely to be watching. Its location has not been revealed by the Ministry of Defence. The incident triggered a frantic underwater race to find the wreckage of the F-35B stealth jet and secure the crash site a mile below the surface before Russian divers could get there first. It accelerated up the ramp of HMS Queen Elizabeth's flight deck, before the pilot ejected when the plane reached the top.
The £100million aircraft plunged into the sea earlier this month while conducting routine flying operations in the region. The F-35 fighter jet that crashed into the Mediterranean on take-off from Britain's £3billion aircraft carrier has been found. Septem– A F-35 stealth fighter jet fell out of the sky and exploded on the ground after hitting a KC-130J tanker in a mid-air collision near the Salton Sea in Imperial County, California.– This F-35 crash on landing was caused by a tired, distracted pilot and unresponsive tail glitch.Ap– Parts of the tail of a Japanese F-35 were found in the sea around 85 miles east of Misawa during a training mission.Septem– All operational F-35s were grounded while a probe was launched into why a fuel tube failed in flight after a horror crash at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina.Octo– A US Marine Corp F-35B set alight mid-flight due to a fire in its weapons bay before the pilot landed safely in Beaufort, South Carolina.J– A USAF F-35A had a catastrophic engine fire caused by a fractured rotor which saw it turn into a blaze as it took off in Florida.No, this is the seventh time an F-35 has crashed. Is this the first time an F-35 has crashed? However, it is likely that China already knows all there is to know about the jet due to its advanced spying. The technology aboard the US-designed aircraft, including top secret radar and sensors, is hugely sensitive as it allows the F-35 to fly 'unseen' in hostile territory at supersonic speeds – meaning it would be of interest to rivals such as Russian. The UK is set to buy 138 of the jets from US aviation giant Lockheed Martin for £9.1billion in the coming years, with 48 of those expected to be delivered by 2025. It raises questions about the quality of the F-35B, of which Britain currently has 24. The plane was the first F-35B that Britain has lost and the incident is the first mishap for both the RAF's F-35B fleet and for HMS Queen Elizabeth, Britain's biggest aircraft carrier. The crash is embarrassing for the Government. Why did security officials panic over the crash? Officials believe the rain cover was sucked into the stealth plane's engine as it took off from the flight deck of the HMS Queen Elizabeth. However, investigators suspect the jet plummeted into the Mediterranean while taking off because the cheap rain covers had not been taken off properly. It is unclear what exactly caused the crash. The operation, shrouded in secrecy, is understood to have involved divers, miniature submarines and inflatable bags which may be used to lift the plane to the surface of the Mediterranean. Britain is understood to have worked with the Americans to recover the jet. The incident triggered a frantic underwater race to find the wreckage. The film is of poor quality and not operationally sensitive, but its appearance on social media has dismayed Navy bosses. In a shocking security breach, the 16-second clip was copied using a smartphone and put on Twitter.
The pilot managed to eject the plane before the aircraft ditched.Ī sailor leaked film of the warplane crashing into the sea on take-off.
MoD officials said it plunged into the waters while conducting routine flying operations in the region on take-off from HMS Queen Elizabeth. One of Britain's £100million F-35 fighter jets crashed in the Mediterranean Sea earlier this month.