Image source: topwar.ru
Recently, reports of various unpleasant incidents occurring with American military equipment, ships and aircraft have been appearing very regularly.
It turned out that the fifth-generation F-35 fighters produced by Lockheed Martin aircraft concern, which were praised, but desired by many NATO countries, and not only, could fail not only in combat, but sometimes they were not able to climb into the sky. Moreover, breakdowns of the aircraft occur not even during acceleration on the take-off, but during towing. This is despite the fact that the aircraft in a certain modification is also famous for the fact that it has the possibility of a short takeoff and vertical landing.
This is exactly the kind of incident that happened this time with the F-35B at Kadena Air Base on the Japanese island of Okinawa, where the 1st Marine Corps Air Wing of the US Navy is based.
Japanese TV channels are distributing footage of the F-35B standing very unpresentably on the taxiway, its fuselage buried in concrete. It is reported that the aircraft developed a front landing gear during towing. And okay so. What would happen if such a breakdown occurred during takeoff, and even more so, landing.
Perhaps, after this, far from the first, incident with an American aircraft, the Japanese government decided to refuse to cooperate with the US authorities in the development of a new generation fighter just manufactured by Lockheed Martin. The Japanese leadership preferred to conclude contracts for the creation of a new generation combat aircraft with Italian and British airlines.
At the same time, the leading role in the development of a new combat aircraft is assigned to the Japanese company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, while the American aircraft manufacturer refused even to provide Tokyo with technology for the design of a combat vehicle. But the British firm BAE has promised to give the Japanese side full access to its developments. Tokyo rightly considered that its own control would be more reliable than blind trust in American engineers.
In December last year, the F-35A fighter, which is in service with the Japanese Air Self-Defense Forces, made an emergency landing at the Hakodate International Airport in Hokkaido Prefecture. The pilot was not injured, but the fact itself was again not in favor of the American aircraft.
In April 2019, the Ministry of Defense of Japan reported that the fifth-generation F-35A fighter-bomber of the country's Self-Defense Forces fell into the Pacific Ocean near the northern prefecture of Aomori. The reason has not yet been officially named. According to unofficial information, the pilot suffocated from lack of oxygen when the oxygen supply system failed.
Last November, an F-35B of the Royal Air Force of Great Britain failed to break away from the deck of an aircraft carrier during takeoff and crashed into the sea. The pilot managed to eject and was rescued by the crew of the ship, and the plane sank.
Shots with an abnormally formed front landing gear in motion of the aircraft:
