The US military has lost track of its fighter jet, prompting an unusual appeal to the public to help find the missing aircraft worth tens of millions of dollars. The F-35 fighter jet, which is said to be “invisible” to radars, has been missing since Sunday.
The F-35 disappeared Sunday afternoon while the pilot was flying over the US state of South Carolina. It is not yet clear what happened, but authorities say the plane was involved in an “accident.” The pilot ejected from the plane and parachuted safely, and is now in a stable condition in hospital, they said.
The F-35 Lightning II is a fifth-generation low-observability multirole fighter aircraft developed by Lockheed Martin. It costs about 80 million dollars, and it is distinguished by “stealth” technology, since its frame, sensors and systems are designed in such a way that they cannot be detected by radars.
While the pilot survived, the U.S. military has yet to find the plane, prompting the local population at Charleston Air Force Base to ask for help.
The call to the public was also published on the X social network, formerly Twitter. “If you have any information that could help our rescue teams locate the F-35, please call the base’s Defense Operations Center,” they wrote.
