The US Air Force calls “Frankenjet”, a stealth fighter sewn from parts of two F-35 destroyed in accidents, which is now in service and ready for combat. The name refers to Mary Shelley’s book “Frankenstein”, where the character Victor Frankenstein adds parts of various bodies for a new creature.
“Frankenjet is fully operational and ready to support the combatant,” said a report from the F-35 F-35 Program Office of the Armed Forces on Wednesday (10).
The recycled war aircraft has origins in 2014, when an F-35A about to take off on an Eglin Air Base training mission in Florida suffered a “cautious engine failure,” according to an Air Force report on the incident.
The aircraft, known as AF-27, also suffered serious damage to the back. Pieces of a fractured engine rotor arm “cut the engine fan housing, the engine compartment, an internal fuel tank and the hydraulic and fuel lines before leaving the upper aircraft fuselage,” concluded an investigation.
The resulting fire burned two thirds of the back of the fighter, the investigation said.
On June 8, 2020, the front landing train on another F-35A, known as AF-211, failed to land at Hill Air Base in Utah, resulting in serious damage to the war plane, reports about the incident.
Thus, the Air Force got two usable pieces of $ 75 million fighters-the AF-27 nose and the rear of the AF-211.
“Instead of damaging the two jets… the teams made a bold decision in 2022 to remove the nose from AF-27 and put it in AF-211 to maximize the economy and add an operational aircraft to the fleet again,” an F-35 JPO report said.
Scott Taylor, Mechanical Engineer of Backheed Manufacturer, put his perspective effort in a 2023 press release.
“All sections of the aircraft can be dismantled and reassembled theoretically, but that has never been done before,” said Taylor. “This is the first F-35 ‘Frankin-Bird’ to this day. This is history.”
The work was carried out at Hill Air Base, with “specialized tools, accessories and equipment, totally new and exclusive,” said the 2023 Air Force press release.
Almost two and a half years of repair were rewarded in January, when Frankenjet flew for the first time from Hill Air Base to Lockheed Martin F-35 facilities in Fort Worth, Texas.
“The first flight of the rebuilt aircraft was performed within the performance envelope, and she performed as if she had just left the initial production line,” said Jeffrey Jensen, chief engineer of the F-35A variant in a press release.
At the end of last month, Frankenjet was taken back to Hill Air Base and designated for the 338th Hunting Wing, the same unit to which the AF-211 originally belonged.
The military statement estimated the cost of the project by US $ 11.7 million (approximately 69 million reais) stating that it saved Pentagon and taxpayers US $ 63 million (approximately 370 million reais) over the cost of a new replacement aircraft.
The US Air Force has 383 F-35as in its fleet, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
The F-35A is one of three versions of the US Armed Forces Stealing Hunt. The Marine Corps operates the F-35B-a short takeoff aircraft and vertical landing-and the navy operates the F-35C, designed for aircraft carriers.
The F-35 have also become a popular choice for US allies and partners, with 17 other countries operating or acquiring the jets, according to Lockheed Martin.
This content was originally published in the US: Frankenstein hunting made with recycled parts if the Air Force Board on CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
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