On Wednesday, an F-35 fighter jet from the United Kingdom’s flagship aircraft carrier crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, but the pilot ejected and was safely returned to the ship.
During a routine flight over international waters, the pilot ejected. There were no other vessels or aircraft involved. It was unclear what caused the incident, which occurred around 10 a.m. UK time.
“A British F-35 pilot from HMS Queen Elizabeth ejected during routine flying operations in the Mediterranean this morning,” a spokesperson for the defence ministry said.
“The pilot has been safely returned to the ship, and an investigation has begun, so it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
HMS Queen Elizabeth is the biggest and most powerful ship ever built for the Royal Navy. It has a capacity of 40 aircraft, including F-35Bs. Before the incident, the vessel had eight UK F35Bs and ten US F35Bs on board. Now one is being deducted. Each of the jets is estimated to be worth around £100 million (US$135 million). The ship’s jets have previously participated in strikes against Islamic State remnants in Iraq and Syria.
The aircraft carrier is on its first operational deployment, serving as the core of a British-led carrier strike group for the past six months, visiting 40 countries including India, Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
It is the first time that one of HMS Queen Elizabeth’s £100 million warplanes has been lost while on its maiden flight. Since this incident has been such a devastating blow to the United Kingdom, it has already decided to buy 48 F35B fighter jets from the United States for $8.09 billion by 2025. Even though the F35 fighter jet has had an unusually long development period marred by technical failures, the UK’s continued investment in combat aircraft is critical.
The F35 jet, one of the UK’s most expensive, classified, and valuable weapons programmes, is not thought to have been brought down by hostile action.
Efforts are being made to recover it. However, potential technical or human error will almost certainly be the focus of an investigation. In addition, the crash could raise safety concerns for all other F35B jets, which are used by several countries, including the United States.
For the time being, all UK flying operations are running at an average pace.