Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

F-35 Sustains $2.5Mln Damage After Its Own Round Hits Hull During Training Flight

F-35 Sustains $2.5Mln Damage After Its Own Round Hits Hull During Training Flight

The fifth-generation stealth fighter has faced numerous obstacles on its way to being introduced to the US Air Force including repeatedly broken deadlines and numerous extensions to the multi-billion development budget. However, even after the end of the development, the jet boasts a plethora of bugs that emerge from time to time.

One of the US' F-35 fifth-generation stealth fighter jets, operated by the Marine Corps, has suffered damage to its hull caused by the jet's own 25mm projectile's explosion during a 12 March training flight at the Yuma Range Complex, Military.com news outlet reported citing Corps spokesman Andrew Wood.

The F-35B modification, which enables shorter take-offs and landings, managed to land safely with no one injured in the accident. However, the aircraft itself will have to undergo repairs which will cost around $2.5 million, the magazine added.

An F-35A releases ordnance during a dual capable aircraft (DCA) test flight in the skies above Edwards Air Force Base, California, on June 27, 2019.


The marines are still investigating the cause of the incident. So far, the only thing known is that a 25mm semi-armour piercing high explosive round fired from the F-35B's GAU-22 Gatling gun exploded shortly after leaving the weapon's barrel. It is unclear if the shot, embedded with tracer for training purposes, was fired deliberately.

All versions of the F-35 come equipped with GAU-22 guns. Although the basic F-35 variant has its hidden inside the fuselage, the F-35Bs carry it in the external pod. The investigation should determine whether the incident was a result of pilot error, or a malfunction of either a gun or the 25mm rounds. The latter are often used by the jets in aerial combat against enemy fighters, but can also be effective in destroying ground enemy forces and vehicles, including armoured ones.

High-Tech Jet Riddled With Issues


This is not the first time F-35 jets have faced problems, despite having been in development for several decades with the budget having been extended several times. Some of the bugs were deemed "critical" and prevented the jet from being employed by the US military for some time. The jet's creator, Lockheed Martin has been working on fixing those issues over the past few years, as well as on refining the costs of their maintenance.

The Pentagon was reportedly not satisfied with the defence company's work so far. According to Aviation Week & Space Technology, Acting Defence Secretary under President Trump, Christopher Miller called the F-35 programme a "piece of shit" and lambasted Lockheed Martin's lack of progress in reducing the sustainment costs for the fifth-generation jet down to a planned $25,000 per hour. Miller said that high maintenance costs might prevent the Pentagon from buying 48 to 60 jets a year as was originally planned.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×