One month after an F-35C Lightning II fighter jet crashed on a warship in the South China Sea, the U.S. Navy is lastly making the very first steps to obtain the aircraft from the bottom of the sea.
The U.S. Navy 7th Fleet spokesperson confirmed to RFA on Thursday that it has actually sent a team “to validate the site and recuperate the F-35C aircraft associated with the Jan. 24 crash aboard USS Carl Vinson.”
Only after the crash website is confirmed can the recovery process formally begin.
Cdr. Feb. 23.”
The team consists of personnel from Task Force 75 (CTF 75), the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), and NAVSEAs Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV), Sims stated.
Carl Schuster, a retired U.S. Navy captain and former director of operations at the U.S. Pacific Commands Joint Intelligence Center, stated it would take “three to 5 days for the Picasso to reach the area from Okinawa, depending on transit speed and sea conditions along the path.”
” The Navy and CTF 75 have spent the last month preparation and gathering what they needed,” he said.
CTF 75 focuses on disaster action, expeditionary operations that need specialized abilities and devices, consisting of salvage operations.
The F-35C crashed into the deck of the attack aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and then fell into the water on Jan. 24. A dripped video showed the plane struck the deck then skidded and turned in flames before sliding off the flight deck and into the sea.
Five Navy workers are dealing with charges for leaking the video, deemed authorities as it was drawn from the pilots landing aid television on the airplane carrier.
Cdr. Feb. 23.”
A picture widely circulated on social networks shows the F-35C jet in the sea after its crash while attempting to land on the USS Carl Vinson on Jan. 24, 2022. The U.S. 7th Fleet confirmed the photo.
Modern deep-diving assistance vessel
Last month the Japanese Coast Guards Hydrological and Oceanographic Department provided a navigation warning for salvage operations to be carried out in northern part of the South China Sea “until additional notice.”
A navigation caution is a public advisory notification to mariners about modifications to navigational help and current marine activities or threats consisting of fishing zones and military exercises.
The operations are believed to be for the crashed F-35C and the navigation warning is still in effect.
It would take weeks if not months, and countless dollars to recuperate the state-of-the-art stealth fighter jet, experts said.
The crash is listed as “Class An incident” – an incident either “including loss of life or long-term disability, or the complete loss of an aircraft or home damage of $2.5 million or more,” according to the U.S. Navy.
The vessel contracted by the U.S. Navy for the operation, DSCV Picasso, is a high-tech, deep-diving assistance vessel constructed and operated by Singapore-based Ultra Deep Solutions.
Picasso can bring deep-diving undersea unmanned cars to do the study work.
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