According to The Drive on December 1, large parts of two US Air Force F-35A fighter jets that were severely damaged in previous crashes are being reassembled into a new aircraft. The force hopes that this assembly process will demonstrate the ability to repair and reuse severely damaged F-35 aircraft in the future.
The F-35 Franken-bird is made from parts of two different aircraft.
The new F-35, nicknamed Frankenbird, is currently being assembled at the Ogden Air Force Logistics Complex at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. “This is the first aircraft in the F-35 program and a very exciting project,” Dan Santos, maintenance manager for the F-35 Joint Project Office, said in a statement.
The new aircraft was built from parts of an F-35 with the production code AF-27, which suffered an engine fire at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida in 2014, and an AF-211 that failed in June 2020 at Hill Air Force Base.
AF-27 caught fire in 2014
The fire destroyed two-thirds of the AF-27’s fuselage. The pilot escaped unhurt. The US Air Force later estimated the damage at more than $50 million.
Meanwhile, AF-211 lost its front landing gear while landing at Hill Base after a training flight. The official report of the accident has not been released.
Damaged front end of AF-211
The Frankenbird is made from two-thirds of the rear fuselage of the AF-211 and the front section of the AF-27. "The entire F-35 can theoretically be taken apart and reassembled, but it has never been done. This is the first F-35 Frankenbird," said Scott Taylor, chief mechanical engineer at Lockheed Martin, a manufacturer involved in the project.
The assembly of the new F-35 aircraft is based on experience from repairing previously damaged F-22 aircraft as well as experience in maintaining the F-35.
The new aircraft is expected to be ready only after March 2025.
According to The Drive , repairing modern military aircraft is a complicated process, especially for stealth designs like the F-35. Stealth aircraft are built and assembled with great precision. A flaw in the skin can also negatively affect the stealth feature.
“This project not only helps bring an aircraft back into combat, but also opens the door for repairing crashed aircraft in the future using the tools, equipment, techniques and knowledge that have been developed,” said Mr. Santos.
The Air Force says the new aircraft is not expected to be ready for service until March 2025. It is not yet possible to estimate the cost of its construction. The price tag for a new F-35A is about $80 million.
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