US military seeks unusual public help to locate ‘missing’ multimillion-dollar F-35 fighter jet

livemint.com:

United States Military has sought public help to track or find the missing F-35 jet after a "mishap" caused its pilot to eject on Sunday afternoon. The fighter jet of the US Marine Corps went missing mid-air after an emergency caused its pilot to eject. A stealth-capable US fighter jet vanished, not from prying eyes but rather from the American military, prompting an unusual call to the public to help locate the missing multimillion-dollar plane.

Joint Base Charleston said on Facebook that the aircraft was a Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II belonging to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. The pilot ejected safely and was transported to a local medical centre. "If you have any information that may help our recovery teams locate the F-35, please call the Base Defense Operations Center," a post from the base read on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Anyone with information about the jet's whereabouts is urged to contact JB Charleston Base Defense Operations Center at 843-963-3600." the Joint Base Charleston's Facebook account wrote. Emergency response teams have been deployed to find the jet. According to an AP report, the planes and pilots were with the Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 based in Beaufort, not far from South Carolina's Atlantic coast.

The report also stated, based on the missing plane's location and trajectory, the search for the F-35 Lightning II jet was focused on Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion, said Senior Master Sgt. Heather Stanton at Joint Base Charleston. Both lakes are north of North Charleston.