The U.S. Navy introduced that it has recovered the F-35C Lightning II fighter that crashed into the deck of the plane service USS Carl Vinson in January earlier than sliding off and sinking into the South China Sea.
The service introduced {that a} workforce from seventh Fleet’s Activity Pressure 75 and the Supervisor of Salvage and Diving embarked aboard the industrial diving vessel Picasso so as to recuperate the jet from a depth of 12,400 toes.
“The plane was recovered utilizing a CURV-21, a remotely operated car (ROV), which hooked up specialised rigging and carry traces to the plane,” the Navy’s assertion stated.
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“The ship’s crane lifting hook was then lowered to the seafloor and linked to the rigging, after which lifted the plane to the floor and hoisted it onboard Picasso,” it added.
USNI News was the first outlet to report that the wreckage had been recovered.
The announcement follows weeks of secrecy and hypothesis because the jet’s crash on Jan. 24. The Navy stated it was “making restoration operations preparations” for the downed jet within the days after the crash however would not give additional particulars. Just a few days later, the Japanese Coast Guard posted a maritime navigational alert to remain away from an space about 170 miles west of the Philippine island of Luzon resulting from “salvage operations … till additional discover.”
Though the Vinson was probably working within the space of the Philippines — injured crew from that incident have been flown to the nation for therapy — the alert didn’t explicitly join it to the F-35C crash.
Two weeks in the past, the Navy held a briefing on its diving and salvage capabilities however wouldn’t join that data to any ongoing operations or occasions.
Consultants who beforehand spoke to Army.com famous that such a restoration can be a traditional response to the mishap, citing different, earlier deep water recoveries, however famous that issues over an adversary grabbing the superior fighter from beneath the waves added to the urgency.
The Navy didn’t particularly say the place the restoration of the F-35 occurred in Thursday’s announcement however famous that the plane will now be taken to “a close-by army set up to assist within the ongoing investigation and evaluated for potential transport to the US.”
Activity Pressure 75’s commander, Capt. Gareth Healy, praised his workforce’s responsiveness and suppleness in permitting the Navy to tug off “restoration operations inside 37 days of the incident.”
“Given the distinctive challenges of this drawback and the distinctive technical capabilities that NAVSEA delivered, this was an aggressive and achievable timeline,” he added.
Based on photographs and movies leaked by sailors aboard the ship to social media, the jet and its left wing hit the flight deck behind the service because it was coming in for a touchdown. The airplane then skid on its stomach alongside the size of the ship earlier than falling off the facet. The Navy has charged 5 sailors — an ensign and 4 chief petty officers — with “failure to comply with a lawful order” over the leaks.
The reason for the crash stays below investigation.
— Konstantin Toropin may be reached at konstantin.toropin@army.com. Comply with him on Twitter @ktoropin.
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