The US Government Is Missing An F-35 and Is Asking the Public to Help Find It

It’s so stealth, they can’t find it.

Authorities are asking for help from the public to locate a missing jet that vanished over South Carolina after the pilot ejected due to an unspecified “mishap.” The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon, with Joint Base Charleston and Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort collaborating on the search effort.

We’re working with @MCASBeaufortSC to locate an F-35 that was involved in a mishap this afternoon. The pilot ejected safely. If you have any information that may help our recovery teams locate the F-35, please call the Base Defense Operations Center at 843-963-3600.

— Joint Base Charleston (@TeamCharleston) September 17, 2023

The missing aircraft, an F-35B Lightning II, is renowned as the “Most Advanced Fighter Jet in the World” by aerospace giant Lockheed Martin. It boasts exceptional stealth capabilities, making detection more challenging than conventional aircraft. 

According to officials, the pilot put the jet on autopilot and ejected over North Charleston. The pilot was successfully evacuated and transported to a local medical facility in stable condition. 

The F-35 was apparently on autopilot during the time of the ejection. Charleston was landing runway 15 (to the southeast) at the time meaning the F-35 possibly has flown itself out into the Atlantic Ocean 😳 Update via @RiggerBunny pic.twitter.com/6QI9BVKjH1

— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) September 17, 2023

As of Monday morning, the pilot’s condition is said to be stable but details remained undisclosed. The details surrounding the nature of the “mishap” has also remained unclear. Both Joint Base Charleston and the US Air Force had not yet responded to requests for comment.

A local report citing authorities say that the jet does not appear to have crashed. 

The plot thickens on the F-35. It’s on autopilot with no pilot. pic.twitter.com/SWkDJWwBLI

— FUNKER530 (@FunkerActual) September 17, 2023

The search area is primarily concentrated north of Joint Base Charleston around Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion, based on the jet’s last-known position and coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which had not responded to inquiries at the time of reporting.

Criticism arose in response to the incident, with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) expressing incredulity via social media, questioning how such a sophisticated aircraft could go missing without a tracking device. 

Now that I got that out of the way. How in the hell do you lose an F-35?

How is there not a tracking device and we’re asking the public to what, find a jet and turn it in?

— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) September 18, 2023

Jeremy Huggins, a spokesman at Joint Base Charleston, told the Washington Post that the jet’s transponder, normally used to locate aircraft, was not functioning for an undetermined reason. 

“So that’s why we put out the public request for help,” he said. “The aircraft is stealth, so it has different coatings and different designs that make it more difficult than a normal aircraft to detect.”

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