The aircraft crashed near NAS Lemoore, sparking a fire. The pilot ejected safely, but the incident raises fresh questions about the F-35 program and Lockheed Martin’s future.
The United States Navy confirmed that a Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II crashed near Naval Air Station Lemoore in central California on Wednesday evening. The fifth-generation fighter went down in a field “on the operations side of the installation” and reportedly burst into flames. The pilot ejected and is reported to be “safe.”
Naval Air Station Lemoore is about 38 miles southwest of Fresno, while the aircraft was attached to Strike Fighter Squadron 125 (VFA-125), the “Rough Raiders.” It is the only US Navy base that hosts the F-35 Lightning II, and is also home to the service’s Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft.
According to Cal Fire, the crash sparked a small grass fire that burned nearly a dozen acres.
“NAS Lemoore can confirm an aviation incident on the Operations side of the installation. At 1830, an F-35C attached to the VFA-125 Rough Raiders went down not far from NAS Lemoore. We can confirm the pilot successfully ejected and is safe. There are no additional affected personnel,” the base said in a statement posted on Facebook.
The crash is currently under investigation.
This Is the Second F-35 Fighter Jet Crash in 2025
This is the second aviation mishap involving the fifth-generation multirole stealth aircraft this year, after a United States Air Force F-35A Lightning II crashed at Eielson Air Force Base (AFB), Alaska, after suffering an “in-flight malfunction” in January.
The pilot in that incident also survived.
The US Air Force and US Navy operate distinct variants of the F-35 Lightning II. The Air Force’s F-35A is designed for conventional takeoff and landings from traditional air bases, while the US Navy’s F-35C is the carrier-based model. The F-35C is fitted with larger wings and control surfaces, and is also built to withstand the stresses of arrested landings on a carrier flight deck. Both aircraft feature stealth capabilities that provide a low radar signature and advanced sensor fusion, enhancing situational awareness and targeting.
This is thus another costly mishap for the Pentagon, with the F-35 costing upwards of $80 million. Fortunately, as with the most recent previous crash, the pilot was able to eject.
Lockheed Martin Is in Big Trouble over the F-35 Crash
Even as the investigation begins, Lockheed Martin will likely face at least a minor PR crisis that it will need to weather.
This most recent incident comes just over a week after the aerospace firm’s earnings call, where it attempted to put a positive spin on not being selected to build the sixth-generation manned fighter for the US Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program. In March, President Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that Boeing was awarded the contract to build the F-47.
Lockheed Martin has since pivoted by promoting a fifth-generation-plus F-35 to compete with Boeing’s F-47, but this crash will not help matters. The Pentagon had previously acknowledged that it was scaling back its Lightning II acquisition earlier this year, and concerns had been voiced by America’s allies about whether the F-35 was the right fighter, given the White House’s isolationist stance.
This is a developing story.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a thirty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons/ Airman 1st Class Amanda Alvarez.
