‘Frankenjet' stealth fighter made from two wrecked warplanes joins US Air Force fleet
''Frankenjet'' is fully operational and ready to support the warfighter,' a report from the military's F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) said on Wednesday.
The recycled warplane traces its origins to 2014, when an F-35A about to take off on a training mission from Florida's Eglin Air Force Base suffered 'catastrophic engine failure,' according to an Air Force report on the incident.
The aircraft, known as AF-27, also sustained major damage to its rear.
Pieces of a fractured engine rotor arm 'cut through the engine's fan case, the engine bay, an internal fuel tank, and hydraulic and fuel lines before exiting through the aircraft's upper fuselage,' an investigation concluded.
The resulting fire burned the rear two thirds of the fighter jet, it said.
Then on June 8, 2020, the nose landing gear on another F-35A, known as AF-211, failed on landing at Hill Air Force Base in Utah, resulting in severe damage to that warplane, according to reports on the incident.
So, the Air Force was left with two useable pieces of $75 million fighter jets – the nose of AF-27 and the rear of AF-211.
'Rather than writing off both jets as a loss … teams made a bold decision in 2022 to remove the nose from AF-27 and put it onto AF-211 to maximize savings and add back an operational aircraft to the fleet,' a report from the F-35 JPO said.
Scott Taylor, lead mechanical engineer for manufacturer Lockheed Martin, put the effort in perspective in a 2023 news release.
'All of the aircraft sections can be de-mated and re-mated theoretically, but it's just never been done before,' Taylor said. 'This is the first F-35 'Frankin-bird' to date. This is history.'
The work was done at Hill AFB, with 'entirely new, unique specialized tooling, fixtures, and equipment,' the 2023 Air Force press release said.
Almost two and a half years of repairs paid off in January, when the Frankenjet flew for the first time, from Hill AFB to Lockheed Martin's F-35 facility in Fort Worth, Texas.
'The rebuilt aircraft's first flight was flown to the edges of the performance envelope, and it performed like it was fresh from the initial production line,' Jeffrey Jensen, the F-35A variant lead engineer, said in a press release.
Late last month, Frankenjet was flown back to Hill AFB and assigned to the 338th Fighter Wing, the same unit AF-211 had originally belonged to.
The military statement put the cost of the Frankenjet project at $11.7 million, saying it saved the Pentagon and taxpayers $63 million 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 the three versions of the US military's stealth fighter. The Marine Corps flies the F-35B – a short take-off, vertical landing aircraft – and the Navy flies the F-35C, designed for aircraft carrier operations.
F-35s have also become a popular choice for US allies and partners, with 17 other countries either flying or acquiring the jets, according to Lockheed Martin.
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They are racist bigots who, despite only being Christmas Christians who haven't been to church in 40 years, didn't like their son marrying a Jew. We bought their house over 20 years ago, and my MIL has not said anything nice about anything we've changed, as though it should have been kept a shrine to her style. They moved away years ago and have only visited their son maybe three times. They made a trip to the state once without telling him because they were visiting his uncle and didn't visit their son. And when we first bought the house, I, a Jew, did my best to host a festive Christmas for them, only to be told they wouldn't return for Christmas ever again because it 'wasn't what they were expecting.' I could go on for hours with examples." "My MIL still blames me for moving her daughter away and can't believe we moved for better economic opportunities 11 years ago. She will call my wife and cry almost every other night about how she doesn't know how much time she has left, and she refuses to visit, even when we offer to pay the travel expenses. She puts on this poor-me sob story every time we visit. My GOD, just STFU!" "How critical they are of my partner. He is loving, kind, smart, and unique. Nothing he ever does will ever be enough for them. As a result, he has major anxiety and perfectionist issues. He's hard on himself and constantly apologizes for minor things. I wish he knew how awesome he is. For this reason, I've chewed out both his dad and mom, but they were clueless. What issues? If things were different, I'd love to be close to them, but I see how dysfunctional they are and am totally okay with zero contact." "Mine used my wedding as their own personal photoshoot, often taking their son/my groom away to snap family pictures. They then posted all the pictures of themselves in the group chat, and only one of me, which was just of my back at the altar. They also managed to get a photo of just the groom cutting the cake alone, without me in the photo, though we were obviously standing close together. I don't think they were malicious; they're just very self-centered people with zero social awareness." "The number one thing is that they are drama vampires. They can't live without it. Everything is about them; if it isn't, it will be soon. They are cartoonishly childish, and it's as ridiculous as it is sad. I feel terrible for my spouse and her siblings. Every family get-together is a mess. Number two is that they can't make a plan without overcomplicating the ever-loving crap out of it, which my wife has inherited." "I judge my step-MIL because she posts EVERYTHING on Facebook. I swear she can't take a poop without posting." "They are good people, but also the pickiest eaters I have ever met. It has to be genetic. Their entire diet consists of Rice-A-Roni, overcooked, baked chicken, and Ragu pasta. They will not venture out and try anything that they deem too 'exotic' or potentially mildly spicy. For example, chicken tacos sound too wild for them. It has to be Taco Bell-style ground beef." "I get along great with my MIL and FIL as individual people and have close relationships with both, but good god, they have a horrible relationship. It's really awkward sometimes. I have no idea how or why they are still together. They literally hate each other. Early in our relationship, I attempted to gently inquire about what I had observed after getting to know my wife's parents a bit. Before I even finished asking, she casually said, 'Yeah, they should have divorced a long, long time ago. We (her siblings) all think they need to give it up.'" "How fake they are. They just care about their image and how they appear to others. Very little, if anything, is genuine about them." "I absolutely love my in-laws, but compared to my family, they are REALLY loud. Like, instead of taking turns talking, they just talk louder over each other until someone listens. I leave with a headache, including when I sneak to an empty room for peace." "The constant criticism. I married their only son, and nothing I do is good enough. My house is never clean enough, my 1-year-old doesn't 'behave,' and my cooking sucks. The passive aggressiveness is so overwhelming." "My husband's mother and two sisters really went out of their way to make me feel unwanted and disliked early in our marriage. They judged me, gave me the cold shoulder, and criticized everything I did. Joke's on them. My husband and I have been married for 30 years. So, I learned a lesson: Screw the naysayers. Haters gonna hate." "They are terrible with money and have tried to drag my immediate family down with them. I've had to stop acting like an ATM for them, and they're resentful that we won't support their BS anymore." "My MIL refuses to discuss anything that bothers her. She just goes dead silent for a moment, then pivots to a different subject." "My step-MIL could definitely be represented here. She's a piece of work. She's a teacher but literally hates children; all she does is complain about her horrible students, who are kindergarten kids. And often she treats the grandkids like she would rather be anywhere else but with them. She also has some really bizarre hang-ups about my husband's mom. My FIL and MIL divorced almost 30 years ago, and yet, step-MIL felt it necessary to bring up during my recent baby shower that she and FIL had now been married longer than he and MIL. She did this out loud to other people while my saint of a MIL was no more than three feet away. Why would that even matter?! She's an odd bird." "My in-laws are very nice people, but they have two things that really bug me. They have never-ending visits, and they do this with their entire family. I don't want to have house guests for two weeks. Second, they don't help at all when they visit. You used a cup, and you just saw me load the dishwasher? Put the cup in the dishwasher, not the sink. My son is autistic and has been known to get out of the house. Just keep an eye on him if I step away for a minute. Don't tell me he left the house and just sit there. When he was a baby, no one ever offered to feed him, change a diaper, or even give me a break to nap and just play with him. It's exhausting." "My wife's dad is a very 'I'm right, you're wrong' kind of person. If he's not right, he refuses to admit it and will just leave and not speak to you for a long time. Then, he'll show back up and act like nothing happened." "I adore my FIL and step-MIL. They are supportive, welcoming, and fun. They are both really Type A and 'super planners,' which can sometimes be a little irritating, but we have a huge family, and their organization makes for seamless and enjoyable family gatherings. I love my MIL, but she is not the most pleasant person to be around. She is very passive-aggressive and is one of those people who always wants to be miserable. When we get together, she spends most of the time complaining about how her sons never want to see her. She also recruits them to do things for her (which they would happily do) by implying that they owe her because 'I gave birth to you!' It's just exhausting." And: "There's nothing I really hate about my in-laws, but my MIL occasionally says some things that give me pause when she's in the room. For example, she wished me a happy birthday recently, to which I casually replied, 'Just another trip around the sun.' My comment resulted in a 20-minute lecture about how the sun actually orbits the Earth, based on her visual observation of it rising in the east and setting in the west every day. I often wonder how much of my partner's childhood trauma is a direct result of her mother's 'unusual' beliefs." What's the most frustrating thing your in-laws do? Tell us in the comments or share anonymously using this form. Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
