Again with the American F-35. This time the state-of-the-art fighter crashed near the Lemoore NAS base in California. What is known about this unusual series of accidents?
F-35 – symbol of American power and... costly problems
The F-35 is considered one of the world's most modern fighters. The cost of one copy is even $100 million. The USA invests in their development and production – plans to have more than two thousand of them.
However, these machines sometimes hit headlines not because of successes, but because of subsequent disasters. The last incident occurred on July 30, 2025.
Newest incident under NAS Lemoore
Wednesday evening, the F-35C belonging to the training squadron "Rough Raiders" crashed right next to the Lemoore NAS base in California. At 6:30 p.m. local time, the pilot reported a malfunction.Fortunately, he managed to eject and avoided major injuries. Nobody got hurt on the ground..
Event Details
- F-35C crashed (board version)used for pilot training
- The machine belonged to the VFA-125 "Rough Raiders" unit
- Accident occurred during a routine training flight
- The cause of the disaster is under investigation
It is worth noting that this is the second incident with the F-35 fighter in the US in 2025 – in January the F-35A in Alaska crashed, where the pilot also survived.
F-35 – a series of problems and questions about reliability
According to the figures, since 2018, there have already been more than 11 F-35 disasters in the world, mainly in the US.. Every loss is not just a cost – losing one machine means extending the training of subsequent pilots and slowing down the modernisation of the air force.
Frequent causes of F-35 accidents
- Electronic system and engine failure
- Technical problems during landing and take-off
- Excessive complexity of machines
- Intensive use of aircraft for training
Will these incidents stop the F-35 program?
Both the US Army and Lockheed Martin defend the program. The manufacturer shall ensure that most of the accidents are due to the "child age diseases" of new aircraft, stressing that further improvements and system updates are under way.. Experts compare the situation to starting a new smartphone – first parties can cause problems, over time the number of faults decreases.
