US military finds debris at location of lost F-35B

• US military finds debris at location of lost F-35B.
• Joint Base Charleston made an appeal on X.
• The pilot of the F-35B Lightning II jet had successfully ejected from the aircraft.

A day after US authorities were left puzzled by the disappearance of a stealth F-35 fighter jet, which went missing when the pilot ejected, officials finally located the debris of the million-dollar aircraft in South Carolina. They had urged the public for assistance in finding the missing plane.

Joint Base Charleston made an appeal on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Sunday, asking people to “please call the Base Defense Operations Center” if they had any information to aid the recovery teams.

On Sunday afternoon, the pilot of the F-35B Lightning II jet had successfully ejected from the aircraft.

“Personnel from Joint Base Charleston and @MCASBeaufortSC, in close coordination with local authorities, have located a debris field in Williamsburg County. The debris was discovered two hours northeast of JB Charleston,” the base stated on X, expressing gratitude to those who assisted in resolving the situation.

The military had been under significant pressure to locate the debris of the stealth fighter jet, leaving many astonished at the inability of the country’s defense forces to find their own missing plane.

Following the F-35’s disappearance over South Carolina on Sunday, Joint Base Charleston (JBC) issued a desperate plea on social media, asking anyone with information to come forward.

The F-35 Lightning II jet, according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin, is highly sought after by US allies worldwide, particularly Ukraine, due to its nearly impossible-to-track radar signature and advanced sensors.

JBC had indicated that search efforts were focused on two large lakes north of Charleston based on the jet’s last-known position, suggesting the possibility of a crash.

“We are currently still gathering information. The investigation is ongoing,” a JBC spokesman told AFP earlier on Monday.

The pilot had ejected for unknown reasons and safely parachuted into a North Charleston neighborhood, leaving the jet flying in what some referred to as a “zombie state.”

In 1989, a malfunctioning Soviet MiG-23 pilot ejected over Poland, and the jet continued to fly on autopilot until it crashed in Kortrijk, Belgium, over 900 kilometers (560 miles) away.

The disappearance of a highly advanced aircraft, with a minimum cost of $80 million, sparked incredulous comments online.

“How in the hell do you lose an F-35? How is there not a tracking device, and we’re asking the public to do what, find a jet and turn it in?” said Nancy Mace, a Congress member representing the Charleston area.

Some individuals shared manipulated photographs of lost signs on trees, offering rewards for finding the missing jet.

One post depicted Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky standing in front of an F-35, suggesting that he had taken it.

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