The Navy is trying to recover the remnants of an F-35C Lightning II that crashed into the South China Sea on Monday after landing improperly on an aircraft carrier.
The Navy is moving swiftly to recover the F-35, widely considered one of the most advanced fighter jets in the world, due to the likely race between the United States and China to salvage the plane. The Navy has not provided specifics about what went wrong in Monday’s crash but said the exact cause is still under investigation.
“The U.S. Navy is making recovery operations arrangements for the F-35C aircraft involved in the mishap aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) in the South China Sea Jan. 24,” a spokesperson for the Navy’s Pacific Fleet said Tuesday, according to ABC.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES INTERCEPTS BALLISTIC MISSILES FROM HOUTHI REBELS
On Monday, the day the Navy announced the USS Carl Vinson was conducting joint exercises in the South China Sea with the USS Abraham Lincoln, the pilot was conducting “routine flight operations” in the area before the plane hit the deck of the USS Carl Vinson while attempting to land before falling into the water, officials said. The pilot was ejected from the plane and was rescued by helicopter. Seven sailors were injured during the incident, and three were taken to a medical facility in the Philippines but remain in stable condition, officials said.
A spokesperson for the Navy’s 7th Fleet in Japan said that the impact of the crash was “superficial” and that the aircraft carrier has resumed its operations, CNN reported.
The South China Sea is a heavily contested body of water in the Pacific Ocean. China claims sovereignty over vast swathes of the South China Sea, which is disputed by the U.S., the Philippines, Vietnam, and other countries.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
On Tuesday, China sent 39 warplanes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone in an apparent response to the U.S. exercises in the South China Sea on Monday. China’s move was the largest intrusion into the zone this year.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Navy for a statement but did not receive a response.
