This article was originally published by Tyler Durden at Zero Hedge
A mere day after the Department of Defense touted its first ever combat engagement in Afghanistan, the multi-billion dollar in development and cutting edge Marine F-35B stealth fighter has now experienced another first — one has crashed near a Marine base in Beaufort, South Carolina.
“A 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing F-35B belonging to Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 (VMFAT-501) stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort crashed in the vicinity of Beaufort, South Carolina at approximately 11:45 a.m. (EST), today,” said a statement from the 2nd Marine Air Wing.
First photo to emerge near the crash site via local news affiliates.
“The U.S. Marine pilot safely ejected from the single-seat aircraft and is currently being evaluated by medical personnel,” said the statement. “There were no civilian injuries. Marines from MCAS Beaufort are working with local authorities currently conducting standard mishap operations to secure the crash site and ensure the safety of all personnel in the surrounding area.”
The jet was reportedly on a training mission and appears to have gone down over a forested area, as early photos show black smoke rising over a tree line in a rural area.
The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office has closed off the area, and an investigation is underway.
BCSO: Military plane crash near Clarendon Road/Joe Allen Drive in Grays Hill. Unknown if any injuries. Please avoid area. https://t.co/FvbuK9oCIK
— Beaufort County Sheriff's Office,SC (@bcsopio) September 28, 2018
Previously the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that a Marine Corps aircraft had crashed in a rural part of Beaufort County. “The Marine Corps confirmed that it was one of theirs,” a sheriff’s office spokesman told ABC News.
Residents reported hearing multiple explosions in the area, and an anonymous Marine Corps source has told Stars and Stripes that the over $100 million plane has been completely destroyed:
The aircraft was a total loss, according to a Marine official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. An investigation into the incident could take months to determine the cause, the official said.
Kensley Crosby, a Beaufort resident who lives near the area where the F-35B crashed, told the Beaufort Gazette newspaper that she heard an explosion and saw smoke coming from the scene. Kensley said she heard three to four additional explosions within 30 minutes of the crash.
According to CNN, “the announced per-unit price tag for the Marine Corps F-35B was $115.5 million.” And the total acquisition cost for the advanced fighter produced by Lockheed Martin is projected at $406.1 billion, which has made it controversial as the single most expensive defense development program on a single weapons system in US history.
US military officials confirmed in the hours after the news broke that it marks the first time the F-35B has crashed either in training or in operations. The fighter reportedly completed its first operational airstrikes against Taliban targets on Thursday, which US official social media channels heavily promoted throughout the day.
The Pentagon has long planned to make the joint strike fighter the main combat aircraft for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps; and the DoD previously announced plans to purchased more the 2,600.
The version of the F-35B that the Marine Corps uses has the ability to take off and land vertically, however, the Marine Corps said Friday’s crash did not occur while attempting either, but while in flight.
$100M lawn dart.
Live by the Sword, Die by the Sword. Karma!!
That wasted cost of that plane could have produced 2000 $50K a year Solar Panel Production jobs for the US Economy. Poof like everything else, Gone.
They don’t care anyway, its not their money.
“…to provide for the common defence….”
It is not the responsibility of the US Government to build solar panels. While I am not a proponent of any conflict that is not defensive and has not been declared by Congress (see A1, S8, C11) it is the responsibility of the US Government to be ready to defend the nation.
Invest your money into solar panel production.
I think they are 100 million. Use to be more.
The last price quoted was $115-million.
It really fries me when you think of all the good that money could do right here at home.
We have the nuclear option. Anybody messes with the US and they are glass. What’s not to like.
Besides, Fukushima Daiichi is doing more radioactive damage than all the world’s nuclear arsenals right now. Fukushima radiation is showing up in California wines made in Nappa Valley. But people still drink them.
Elevated radiation levels have been reported all along the US west coast.
About 400 tons of water pass through the Fukushima Daiichi reactors every day, and right into the Pacific Ocean. That can’t be good for the fish or human-beings.
Guess until people start dying or the Pacific Ocean dies, or both, or all of the above, everything will remain just awesome.
Ain’t no wonder the California people are screw up in the head! (no disrespect to those on here who live there).
The taxpayers have sunk over 1 trillion into the development of the F35 Turkey thus far.
menzo, they used to come out a lot better with the old F-15, F-16, and F-18. When Trump first took office he questioned the feasibility of the F-35 project and asked about going back to the F-18. Never heard anymore about that. There’s still a bunch of those older aircraft in service and they beat the F-35 hands down.
No doubt and if they were gonna spend that kind of money, a fleet of F22 Raptors would have been killer.
A-10 Warthog is my poison. Built around a 20mm, nothing beats that.
that A-10 has a 30 mm gun. only for close air support. and they keep trying to retire it. my favorite plane too. but it’s not a fighter. the f-35 is definitely a boondogle, underpowered, and way too expensive.
would have been a nice down payment for a border wall
The wonders of technology….ain’t it great?
Euro fighter( AKA typhoon) costs more per unit and is less capable.
As an Project engineer, I followed a very rigorous process to design and build systems, I had really smart people looking over my work and would shout out any mistake as it made them look better than me(and thus they were more likely to survive a layoff).
The F-35 while a technical marvel, is a one size fits all solution to a problem that often needs several specific solutions. Politics defined that aircraft. Requirements were a secondary concern.
Ultimately they will work out the “bugs”, but as technology changes way faster than politics the F-35 is obsolete before it becomes fully operational in all services and nations.
What this F35 Plane production is, is a Solution looking for a problem. And if there ain’t no problems out there, then they create a problem to justify its existence. Big fuckin waste of money.
I think they need to deduct the cost of this crashed plane out of the Congress’s take home pay. Make them personally liable, since they voted for this shit.
I find it amazing what has been done with the 1970’s F-16. Add some state of the art radar absorbing paint, upgrade the electronics, add the latest missile and radar and it is unstoppable.
It was built for an electronics package that weighed hundreds of pounds, that can now be replaced by a two pound laptop. I remember articles about Vietnam, pilots ripped out the 100 pound Sam missile alert system, and replaced it with a two pound fuzz buster radar detector. A hundred pounds was a game changer for manuverability and fuel consumption.
PTPO, Turkey and Iran still have old F-4 Phantoms in service and those planes date back to Vietnam. Looks like the US can’t build a good fighter anymore.
Ah those F4 Phantoms were my first babies. How I do miss them.
What a load of drivel. On what basis is it a technical marvel? It cannot get anywhere the capability of the individual roles of each aircraft it was supposed to replace. Only a fool or those happy to suck taxpayer money would promote such amazing deceit.
First combat “engagement” in Afghanistan. The opposition has RPGs. They could use P47 Thunderbolts of WWII fame effectively there. Instead they put time on a $100 Million Dollar aircraft and then continuously ask for more funds annually. Its Star Wars against “Fred Flintstone”. MIC in action.
You Nailed It…
More money pissed away down the rathole while the “defense”, rather offense department runs roughshod over the American Constitution and Bill of Rights while flattening any prospects for a nation of, by and for the people to exist peacefully and in harmony with other citizens of the world. Trump is another mass murdering puppet in this war of terror. When does this criminal insanity end? What happened to the power of the people? Shamefull ignorance with no regard for the future on full display.
Looks like another Major Expense Failure
like the OSPREY HELICOPTER. The
pilots hated it because it was sometimes
uncontrollable.
Do we really need to spend that kind of money??
One might think Obumhole was promoting this thing
to destroy our economy…ut he is gone . Yay!!!
Kay the answer to your question is a big fat NO, we don’t need a jet that costs this much. Who are we fighting? Russia? They want piece, we’re the warmongers!
Looks like another Major Expense Failure
like the OSPREY HELICOPTER. The
pilots hated it because it was sometimes
uncontrollable.
Do we really need to spend that kind of money??
One might think Obumhole was promoting this thing
to destroy our economy…ut he is gone . Yay!!!
Just chump change for the US military, bankers, and Zionist Neo-cons. The Republicans will just order more fighter planes.
Yet we cling to our beloved Republicans and a system intent on destroying us. We don’t deserve to be free.
Restart the F-22 production line.
Aljamo: We the people have not had any decent amount of damn so called power in a very, very long time and will have less and less if we do not deal with the cancer overtaking this once Great land. Enough is Enough dammit!!!! I have about Zero faith in this clown, criminal syndicate known as the U.S. Gov’t and that goes for the local and state garbage as well – it’s all the same!!!
Things will get worse, the Republicans do not want to govern. Three Houses and we are still in the Middle East, Obama Care still hurting the Middle Class,Many other things could be done. But NO, the Republicans want to be the minority party , blame all woes on the Democrats and still keep the money rolling into their pockets. That is soon going to change. Look at the SCOTUS hearings. Did the Republicans defend the pic, not really. Why did they not ask what is a 15 year old girl doing at a party with older guys? How did she get there? But no, they let the Democrats crap all over the Pic. Come November, I am afraid many voters will stay home in disgust with the Republicans. Let the Democrats get a toe hold in either house and all comes to a hault. 2020 election will be worse. The deomocrats will go nuclear in Senate and the country will be subject all liberal ideas in to law. Country will be gone.
Country is already gone.
The entire Senate system rests on the
whims of a few old menopausal
women.
Full disclosure-married over
41 years to the same woman
who is now considered a Senior citizen.
Don’t give up so fast, many Democrats are seeing the hate, the lies. The Democrat party is crumbling in front of our eyes. If anything Q is reporting is true, the Democrat party is dying as we speak.
The Kavanaugh slander is killing Democrats. Most ie 80% of America sees through the smoke.
The other 20% just love Satan too much, and will never admit their part in supporting this evil. 20% just doesn’t win elections.
November will be a sober moment.
Yes, the GOP will be b—-slapped by deranged Marxist candidates, and millions of GOP voters will stay home. Expect high turnouts by millenials, illegal immigrants, ex-felons, college student, homeless bums, LGBTQ and labor unions!! The Demoncat party will not die, but merge with the DSA. The menopausal and effete GOP representatives are scared of loud noises!
PTPO, I think the Republicans will still keep a majority in both House and Senate. The Democrats couldn’t get Hillary elected 2 years ago even with all of their electoral fraud they normally practice. I think they’ll lose again this time also. I’ll also be at the BOL around that time frame. I expect the cities will blow up in November.
South Carolina already had enough problems with post-Hurricane Florence. Many of the rivers in South Carolina start in North Carolina which is thoroughly flooded. Now, they have jet fighters falling out of the sky on them.
‘An investigation into the incident could take months to determine the cause, the official said.’
So you have a $100 million plane but not enough telemetry to know what caused the plane to crash? Or you could just ask the pilot.
But, in a couple of months the incident will be forgotten, so there’s that.
F35, perfect example of what happens when a bunch of Washington clowns don’t want to risk losing their slice of the military budget pie. Truly pathetic.
For similar example, look up ‘V-22 Osprey’.
I was part of the team that investigated TWA flight 800,
and a few other incidents involving aircraft.
We know what happened to the airplanes. Politics determined
what was reported to the public.
As long as you have Democrats in the system,
consider everything to be a lie.
OK rellik, so then tell us what really did happen to TWA Flight 800? Another USS Liberty False Flag Attack?
Nobody will read this.
When explosions occur on aircraft, passenger necks break a certain way depending on where the explosion was located. Rivets stretch a certain way depending on the same thing.
The center wing tank did not explode, explosion was in front of center wing tank.
I have no idea on what/who caused the explosion, but it was not the center wing tank.
Fell apart when the diversity hire removed the ‘made in China’ sticker.
Make America white, red, and blue blooded.
_
Make America white; and, red blooded and blue blooded.
_
Has anyone else noticed the Daily Sheeple web site is no longer updating. It used to be one of my regular stops. I always preferred SHTF, but I also lurked DS.
Mac I hope you are doing ok. We are in a war. I hope regulars here support SHTF and checkout advertisers on SHTF.
Maybe the US should start to consider the outcome of trying to start a f–king war with the rest of humanity.
At first blink thus does seem like “look at the good this money could have here”. In reality most if not all the money did do good here when you consider all the employees and material suppliers and researchers that received this money and spent it on everything people spend money on contributing to the velocity of money which fuels the entire economy. Very sad this happened but thankfully no lives lost.
And the days of RECKLESS govt spending are fast approaching their well deserved end!!! The US Global Dollar system is a disease for the WHOLE world and has led to this ridiculous behavior.
Lockheed Martin’s excuse: study the “broken window theory”
More “economic activity” as a result of the “need” to replace it.
An oldie but goody —
Broken Window Fallacy, with bad accents. Originally, credited to Bastiat:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG3AKoL0vEs&pbjreload=10
In the sci-fi version, the character was named after Bastiat:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnzzWGcdMqY&pbjreload=10
We have embroiled the whole world in designed obsolescence and fake controversies, like in the Biblical description of Babylon.
Where was AF1 when F35B was shot down, errr I mean crashed.
Perhaps we should have our rulers work on producing our own rocket engines! It’s pathetic that we have to buy them from Russia, and, it’s very ironic as well.
No wonder that the F-35 is a pile of bolts!