California Training Jet Crash Raises Questions Over F‑35 Safety

California:

A US Navy F‑35 fighter jet crashed on Wednesday evening near Naval Air Station Lemoore in central California during a routine training exercise. The pilot, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron VF‑125, safely ejected and was taken to hospital, but no other injuries or damage have been reported. 

Naval authorities confirmed that the aircraft was an F‑35C Lightning II assigned to the “Rough Raiders” training unit. It went down in a field in Fresno County at approximately 6:30 p.m. local time, prompting emergency crews to respond swiftly. 

“The pilot successfully ejected and is safe. There are no additional affected personnel,” read a statement from NAS Lemoore. The navy added that the cause of the incident remains under investigation and has not yet been disclosed. 

Eyewitnesses captured video footage showing the aircraft engulfed in flames and emitting thick smoke. Authorities later confirmed that the wreckage caused a small grass fire covering nearly a dozen acres. 

This marks the second F‑35 accident involving the US military in 2025. Earlier in the year, an F‑35A crashed during a training mission at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska; the pilot survived that incident as well. 

The recent crash comes at a time of heightened scrutiny over the F‑35 programme’s safety and operational reliability. Just days earlier, a British Royal Navy F‑35B had been grounded in India for over a month following an emergency landing in Kerala. That event, which involved complex international logistics and raised concerns over sensitive military technology being handled outside allied partners, further fuelled debate. 

Critics have highlighted that this F‑35 incident is part of a growing pattern of crashes, including those in South Carolina, Japan and South Korea, calling into question the jet’s readiness and maintainability despite its status as one of the most advanced and costly military programmes ever developed.  

Supporters of the aircraft emphasise that in each of the recent accidents, pilots ejected safely. The F‑35 remains central to modern air combat strategies, with more than 900 delivered to over seventeen partner nations. 

An investigation is now underway to determine the precise cause of the Californian crash. Until then, military authorities have declined to release further details, citing operational security and the sensitivity of the ongoing probe.