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In keeping with consultants, the “stomach touchdown” — touching down with touchdown gear retracted — was an unprecedented occasion for the $100 million US-designed stealth fighter now in use or on order by greater than a dozen international locations.
“The jet did an emergency touchdown because the touchdown gear didn’t prolong. This may imply the jet did the ‘stomach touchdown,'” mentioned a South Korean navy official, who wouldn’t affirm whether or not the plane suffered any injury within the incident.
Even when it did, it could show excellent flying abilities by the pilot, whom officers mentioned walked away from the touchdown, in response to a South Korean navy official.
“The F-35 lands actually quick. It is not an F-16, 18 or 111,” mentioned Peter Layton, a former Australian air power officer now on the Griffith Asia Institute, referring to older, much less refined navy plane than the F-35.
“I am very stunned the emergency gear down programs did not work, or weren’t used,” he mentioned.
Layton additionally expressed shock that the South Korean pilot did not eject, “however clearly they did the precise factor,” he mentioned.
An investigation into the incident was underway, South Korean officers mentioned.
South Korea acquired its first US-made F-35 in 2019 as a part of an preliminary order of 40 of the single-engine jets, in response to the aircraft’s producer, Lockheed Martin.
Variations of the F-35 are additionally flown by the US Air Pressure, Navy and Marine Corps in addition to US allies and companions together with Japan, the UK, Australia, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands and Israel. Extra international locations have orders in for the jet.
Tuesday’s accident is the primary for a South Korean F-35, however the jets have been concerned in at the very least eight different incidents, in response to information stored by crowdsourced web site F-16.web.
Lockheed Martin says the F-35 “is probably the most deadly, survivable and linked fighter plane on this planet, giving pilots a bonus towards any adversary and enabling them to execute their mission and are available residence protected.”
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