Repair cost exceeding ransom 140 billion won... F-35 'collision with eagle' ultimately scrapped

F-35A Worth 110 Billion Won, Retired After Just 2 Years of Service

The 5th generation cutting-edge stealth fighter F-35A, which made an emergency landing on the runway after colliding with an eagle last January, will eventually be retired due to excessive repair costs. This aircraft was introduced to the Air Force in 2020, and after just two years of operation, it can no longer function properly and is being disposed of.

On the 1st, the Air Force announced, "Yesterday, we held an equipment retirement review committee and decided to retire one F-35A aircraft that was damaged after a bird strike caused a belly landing."

The fighter jet took off from Cheongju Air Base on January 4 last year and was flying at about 330 meters altitude to enter the firing range when it collided with an eagle. The eagle penetrated the aircraft’s bulkhead and was sucked into the left air intake, damaging the landing gear hydraulic lines and power supply wiring, as well as the wheels, which play a braking role during takeoff and landing. With the landing gear inoperable, the pilot approached the Air Force Seosan Base along the west coast and performed a belly landing on the runway. Fortunately, there were no casualties. A belly landing is a method of landing by placing the fuselage directly on the runway without extending the wheels.

Although the damage initially appeared minor externally, the military, together with the U.S. government project team and the aircraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin, conducted a detailed investigation and confirmed damage in multiple areas including the airframe, engine, and flight/navigation system components. The repair cost was estimated at about 140 billion KRW, which is significantly higher than the cost of purchasing a new aircraft (about 110 billion KRW). Moreover, repairs would take more than four years, and the safety verification process after restoration would be difficult, leading to the conclusion that retirement is inevitable, the Air Force explained.

Aircraft retirement is finalized after review by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and approval by the Ministry of National Defense. Although how the aircraft will be utilized after retirement has not yet been decided, the Air Force said options such as using it for maintenance technician training are being considered. The Air Force has operated a total of 40 F-35As since introducing them in March 2019.