US sends Osprey to South China Sea on crashed F-35C jet salvage mission, Chinese think tank says on Twitter

Four US Air Force Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft ‘heading to the area’, SCS Probing Initiative says, citing satellite images

Japanese coastguard issues navigational warning on salvage operations in northern part of South China Sea ‘until further notice’

Reading Time:3 minutes

The US Navy has confirmed that a photo circulating on social media shows an F-35C jet that ended up in the South China Sea after a landing mishap on the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier. Photo: Twitter

Published: 5:14pm, 30 Jan 2022Updated: 8:37pm, 30 Jan 2022

The US has sent at least four military aircraft to recover the top-secret components of its crashed F-35C fighter jet in the South China Sea, a Beijing-based think tank said.

“[Salvage work] for the crashed F-35C seems to be beginning” the SCS Probing Initiative (SCSPI) tweeted on Saturday, citing satellite images.

This comes after the US Navy revealed last Monday that an F-35C Lightning II – its most advanced stealth fighter jet – had fallen into the sea after a “landing mishap” on the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier during routine operations.

At least four US Air Force CV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, believed to have been deployed from American bases in Japan and the Philippines, were spotted “heading to the area where the carrier exercises had taken place”, SCSPI said in its Twitter post.

Earlier on Saturday, the Japanese Coast Guard issued a navigational warning that salvage operations were being carried out in an area in the northern part of the South China Sea “until further notice”.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x