Navy salvage crews have recovered the F-35C that suffered a crash landing on the deck of USS Carl Vinson.
The F-35C was recovered from the floor of the South China Sea with Navy personnel aboard the offshore vessel DSCV Picasso, which had departed Okinawa on Feb. 23.
“The wreckage was recovered from a depth of approximately 12,400-feet by a team from CTF 75 and the NAVSEA’s Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV) embarked on the diving support construction vessel (DSCV) Picasso,” reads a statement from U.S. 7th Fleet.
“The aircraft was recovered using a CURV-21, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), which attached specialized rigging and lift lines to the aircraft. The ship’s crane lifting hook was then lowered to the seafloor and connected to the rigging, and then lifted the aircraft to the surface and hoisted it onboard Picasso.”
The US Navy was forced to recovery the aircraft in fears that China or Russia could seize the aircraft, either to replicate the technology aboard or discover ways to defeat the fighters.
The Navy did not specify where exactly the recovery operations occurred.
