The US military reportedly found the plane’s wreckage during the search for a missing F-35 fighter jet. Joint Base Charleston announced last night that it was located in Williamsburg County, in the US state of South Carolina.
The fighter had disappeared the day before after the pilot escaped using the ejection seat due to an “accident”. He was treated at the hospital.
The military then asked the public for help finding the F-35. This caused ridicule. According to various reports, the fighter currently costs between 80 and 100 million US dollars (75 to 94 million euros). The F-35 stealth jet from the American defense company Lockheed Martin is considered one of the most modern fighters in the world.
The jet that was missing was an F-35B – a vertical take-off aircraft that flies shorter distances.
“The US military is losing an F-35. If you find one, it could be their jet,” US broadcaster CNN said in the afternoon. “We knew the F-35 was stealthy, but this is ridiculous,” Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace of South Carolina wrote on Twitter (X).