Rescue teams find F-35 stealth fighter jet wreckage off Japan coast
F-35 fighter jet
Search and rescue teams found wreckage belonging to a Japanese Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter that disappeared on Tuesday over the Pacific Ocean close to northern Japan, Japanese defence minister said on Wednesday (April 10).
The advanced, single-seat jet was flying about 135 km (84 miles) east of the Misawa air base in Aomori Prefecture at about 7:27 p.m. (1027 GMT) on Tuesday, when it disappeared from radar, Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya told reporters.
Japan's first squadron of F-35s has just become operational at Misawa and the government plans to buy 87 of the stealth fighters to modernise its air defences as China's military power grows.
A US military short take-off and landing (STOVL) F-35B crashed near the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina in September prompting a temporary grounding of the aircraft.
Lockheed Martin also makes a C version of the fighter designed to operate off carriers.