The South Korean Air Power has decided that repairing the broken F-35 would price greater than shopping for a brand new one
The flagship fifth-generation US fighter jet has met its match in South Korea: a chicken. The South Korean Air Power has determined to retire an F-35A that was broken when it hit an eagle final yr, as a result of repairs would price greater than the $85 million price of shopping for a brand new one.
The choice was introduced on Friday, when the Air Power revealed that an evaluation of the broken jet confirmed that repairs would price at the very least 140 billion received ($108 million) and would take 4 years to finish. The airplane’s maker, US protection contractor Lockheed Martin, assisted within the evaluation, which discovered that the chicken strike had broken round 300 parts, together with the engine, navigation system and airframe.
US officers have touted the F-35 because the world’s most superior stealth fighter jet and have offered it to greater than a dozen allies world wide. The “A” variant is the commonest and is designed to take off from typical runways.
South Korea at the moment has 40 F-35As, together with the jet that was broken past restore, and it has as many as 25 extra on order. The Air Power stated it is going to discover a approach to make use of the retired jet, corresponding to coaching mechanics.
The jet was flying at an altitude of 330 meters (1,082 toes) when it reportedly struck an eagle over North Chungcheong province, in central South Korea. The chicken was sucked into the airplane’s air consumption, damaging programs required for navigation and working touchdown gear. The pilot made an emergency stomach touchdown at a base in Seosan, about 80km (50 miles) southwest of Seoul.
South Korea’s army has used its F-35As in joint drills with US troops this yr, together with a present of power carried out hours after North Korea carried out a missile take a look at in March.
The F-35 program has been suffering from price overruns, malfunctions and delays. Some variations of the jet have been briefly grounded for security inspections final yr, after a crash in Texas. The US F-35 fleet’s mission succesful price – the proportion of time, on common, that an plane was able to carry out its assigned job – was 55% as of March 2023, in keeping with the US Authorities Accountability Workplace.
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