US' F-35 collides with bird during take-off from Japanese air base, pilot unhurt
- Country:
- United States
A US F-35 stealth bomber suffered millions of dollars in damage after colliding with a bird during take-off from an air base in Japan, the US Marine Corps has said in a statement. "On May 7, 2019, an F-35B with Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing aborted take-off due to a bird strike at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni and safely taxied off the runway," the statement said.
The pilot was not hurt in the incident, it said. Photographs circulating on social media showed what appeared to a kind of falcon stuck beneath the plane. A damage assessment report has not yet been completed but the Marine Corps classified the incident as category "A," meaning the damage is expected to exceed USD 2 million. The F-35 program was launched in the 1990s and has cost almost USD 400 billion, making it the most expensive weapons system ever developed by the Pentagon.
The defence department plans to build some 2,500 of the warplanes in the decades to come. The F-35B is a short take-off and landing variant of the plane, developed for the Marine Corps. Each plane costs USD 115 million to build.
(With inputs from agencies.)
ALSO READ
Japan is giving Washington 250 new cherry trees to replace those to be lost in construction work
Foreign Secy Vinay Kwatra bolsters India-US relations on Washington visit
Defense relationship part of US-Iraq talks in Washington next week, US official says
Kishida delights Washington with promise of 250 cherry trees as independence gift
Biden returns to Washington as Iran launches attack on Israel