According to a report by U.S. media on July 30, 2025, a U.S. Navy F-35C carrier-based aircraft crashed near the Naval Air Station Lemoore in Kings County, California. It is reported that this U.S. Navy F-35C carrier-based aircraft belongs to VFA-125, and the U.S. military pilot successfully ejected. According to the California Highway Patrol, an F-35C carrier-based aircraft crashed or made an emergency landing near the Naval Air Station Lemoore, with an explosion at the scene, and the F-35C airframe was engulfed in flames. Civilian and military emergency personnel are en route to the scene. The crash location of the F-35C carrier-based aircraft is adjacent to the runway of the Naval Air Station Lemoore. From current information, it appears that the U.S. Navy F-35C carrier-based aircraft lost control during takeoff or landing, directly crashing onto the airport runway, resulting in a vertical impact, explosion, and subsequent fire. The U.S. military seems to have more plane crashes than India! On July 19, U.S. media had previously exposed that an F-35C carrier-based aircraft of the U.S. Marine Corps lost its maintenance panel shortly after taking off from Tinker Air Force Base, and the U.S. military pilot subsequently safely landed at Nellis Air Force Base. The maintenance panel of the F-35 has previously experienced detachment accidents, and specific designs were made to address human negligence factors, but there were still ground crew errors by U.S. personnel.

On January 24, 2022, an F-35C carrier-based stealth fighter was damaged and fell into the sea during landing on the U.S. Navy's USS Carl Vinson, causing injuries to six sailors. According to the U.S. military, the accident was caused by the pilot's error during the landing of the F-35C carrier-based aircraft. This was the first F-35C carrier-based aircraft lost by the U.S. military, which fell into the South China Sea, but eventually, the U.S. military recovered this F-35C carrier-based aircraft that had fallen into the South China Sea. Among the four global stealth fighters, the U.S. F-35, F-22, and Russia's Su-57 have all experienced crashes. Currently, China's J-20 and J-35 fighter jets maintain a zero safety record, and the Chinese Air Force's J-20 stealth fighter has been in service for at least 400 units, approaching the record of 500 units, while no J-20 stealth fighter has been lost due to crashes.

For the U.S. military, if the total production of the F-35 series has exceeded 1,000 units, with 800 units already delivered and put into use, then the crash rate is 1%, which is not high. According to the content of the U.S. military budget for fiscal year 2026 submitted to Congress, the number of F-35 aircraft purchased by the various branches of the U.S. military in 2026 is 47 units, including 24 F-35A for the U.S. Air Force, 8 F-35C for the U.S. Navy, 4 F-35C carrier-based aircraft and 11 F-35B vertical take-off and landing fighters for the U.S. Marine Corps.

The confirmed numbers show that the U.S. Air Force will have 662 F-35A, the U.S. Marine Corps 201 F-35B, and the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps 225 F-35C, making the total number of F-35 fighter jets for the U.S. military exceed 1,088. In comparison, the J-20 stealth fighter has a good speed and high-quality production standards, as well as timely ground maintenance support. With the beginning of mass production of the J-35 series fighter jets, China is about to surpass the number of fifth-generation fighters of the U.S. military.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1839138456638475/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.