Yet another F-35 Fighter Jet crashed in California on Wednesday, 30th July 2025
The crash occurred at 6:30 pm in the evening near the Naval Base Station Lemoore. According to reports the pilot ejected safely. 

This is the second F-35 crash in the year 2025. An F-35A crashed at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska in January during a training mission. 

The aircraft involved in the latest crash was an F-35C, a carrier-borne variant of the F-35. 
This particular aircraft belonged to the Strike Fighter Squadron VFC-125 “Rough Raiders”. This squadron is responsible for the training of pilots and aircrews. According to reports that crash cost the US government a loss of about 100$ million. 

The world’s most expensive fighter jet

The F35 has three variants, the F-35A which is operated by the US Air Force, F-35B (short-takeoff and vertical landing) operated by the US Marines, and the F-35C by the US Navy. The F-35A (Conventional Take-off and Landing ) costs 82$ million in fly away condition, the F-35B (Vertical Take-off and Landing) is the most expensive at 109$ million. While the F-35C (Carrier Borne) comes at 102.1$ million.

This makes the F35 the world’s most expensive aircraft. When envisaged, the F35 was expected to $65 million per aircraft. However a long development process and provisions for long-term sustainment led to costs spiralling out of control. So how did this come to be?

When the F35 programme was conceived, the US wanted an aircraft that would carry advanced weapons, would be able to take off from carriers, perform vertical take-off and landing, and would be equipped with advanced sensors. As a result the F35 programme ballooned into a $1 trillion project with a single aircraft costing $100 million. The program therefore faced criticism for being too expensive even for the United States of America.

String of Crashes

This is the 12th F-35 to have crashed in 7 years. And criticism of the aircraft’s many flaws has only mounted. According to a US Director of Operational Test and Evaluation report from 2024, the F-35s are mission ready for just 51% of the time which falls short of the 65% targeted goal. The report also mentioned reliability and maintainance issues.

Another report by the US Government Accountability Office released in April 2024 stated that the cost of sustaining the F-35 programme increased from 1.1$ trillion in 2018 to 1.58$ trillion in 2023.  This figure could reach $2 trillion with the projected lifespan of the aircraft which is expected to fly till 2088.
 
Then there were issues with repairs due supply chain problems for components.

Should India Buy the F-35?

The US has offered the F-35A to India. But there are a number of problems with the proposition. India currently operates a combination of Russian and European aircrafts. The F35 is designed for network centric warfare with each aircraft acting as a virtual command and control unit in the air. However the aircraft will be difficult to integrate with the Indian Armed Forces which operate equipment from a diverse range of countries.

Another issue is the cost of the aircraft. India presently has about 30 operational squadrons against a sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons. At $100 million a piece, the F35A will be too expensive if it were to fill in the gap.  

Worse still is the reputation that the F35 has acquired. India sees that the US is not acquiring more F35s. Furthermore in June 2025, a Royal Air Force F35 B developed mechanical issues and was forced to land in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The aircraft remained stranded there for about 20 days sparking a meme fest.

Lastly, a purchase of the F-35 will come with strings attached. As per policy, the US will reserve the right to stop supplies should India use the aircraft in a manner that may be disagreeable to US interests. This is anathema to India

A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter from the 58th Fighter Squadron, 33rd Fighter Wing

Arjun Dev Singh

Arjun Dev Singh has a deep interest in defence, security, and strategic affairs. With a strong analytical lens and a passion for military and geopolitical developments, Arjun strives to bring clarity and context to complex national and international issues.