A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B burst into flames mid-flight Oct. 27, causing more than $2 million in damage to the aircraft.
The U.S. F-35 program is famously the most expensive weapons program in history, costing taxpayers nearly $400 billion since launching in 2001. The F-35 program came in $200 billion over budget, and three years behind schedule. The incident, which occurred over Beaufort, South Carolina, is the latest in a series of spontaneous fires plaguing the F-35 program.
The October fire reportedly occurred in the weapons bay.
“The aircraft landed safely and there were no injuries sustained,” 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing spokesman 1st Lt. John Roberts told Military Times. “An investigation is ongoing and we will provide updates as they are available.”
An official damage assessment of the fire is not available, but the incident was listed as a Class A Mishap, which includes damage to military equipment totaling $2 million.
An F-35A caught fire on a training exercise in Idaho Sept. 23, and another aircraft caught fire on takeoff in June 2014. The 2014 fire caused more than $50 million to the aircraft, nearly half the value of the individual plane. The troubling incidents come as the Marine Corps expects to deploy the F-35 four times in the next five years.
The unit that experienced the fire is reportedly slated for assignment to Okinawa, Japan where it will then be deployed to the Pacific ocean.
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