The US combined two halves of the F-35 to create a new F-35 fighter (Photo: The Drive).
The Drive reported that two parts of two F-35As damaged in previous crashes were reassembled by the US to create an operational aircraft.
The project's goal is to be able to repair and salvage severely damaged F-35s to create new, usable fighters.
The aircraft, nicknamed "Franken-bird," is being assembled at the Ogden Air Logistics Complex (OALC) at Hill Air Force Base in Utah.
The F-35 Joint Project Office (JPO) leads the program in partnership with multiple units within OALC, as well as the 388th Fighter Squadron and contractor Lockheed Martin.
The two aircraft that were joined together had the airframe numbers AF-27 and AF-211. AF-27 suffered a catastrophic engine fire at Eglin Air Force Base in 2014, destroying the rear two-thirds of the aircraft. Investigators later estimated the damage to the aircraft to be in excess of $50 million.
In June 2020, AF-211 lost its nose landing gear while landing at Hill after a routine training mission.
The US decided to combine the rear 2/3 of the AF-211 frame and the nose of the AF-27 to create a new fighter.
The F-35 fighter jet is considered the hope of the US military aviation thanks to its convergence of elements of a powerful combat weapon such as stealth capability against radar, impressive speed, high flexibility, and modern sensor systems.
The US has developed the F-35 into three different variants, including the F-35A for the Air Force, the F-35C for the Navy, and the F-35B for the Marines.
However, the F-35 is also a controversial weapon because the development time was longer than expected as well as technical errors ranging from simple to serious that arose, causing the project's cost to skyrocket, making it the most expensive fighter jet in the world.
The project's goal is to utilize usable parts from severely damaged fighters to create a new fighter (Photo: The Drive).
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