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TL;DR: The US Air Force has done something pretty wild. It has pieced together two F-35A Lightning II fighter jets, recovered from accidents. Dubbed “Franken-bird,” it was a massive re-engineering feat that took almost a year to complete. Yet, the enormous repair job only cost the Air Force around $6 million.
Combining major structures from separate F-35s to build a fully operational plane is an Air Force first. Both these damaged jets would’ve otherwise ended up as expensive scrap metal. One jet suffered a nose gear collapse at Hill in 2020, while the other dealt with an engine fire at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida in 2014.
The crew behind this impressive project were the airmen from the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base in Utah. They also had help from the F-35 Joint Program Office, Ogden Air Logistics Complex, and Lockheed Martin. The teams got creative, fabricating specialized tools and equipment to join the disparate aircraft sections. Once reassembled, they shipped the Franken-bird’s airframe to the 388th’s hangar at Hill.
“When we received the aircraft, it was pretty much a shell,” said Senior Airman Jaguar Arnold, the dedicated crew chief on the project. “There were a lot of tasks to complete that we hadn’t done before at the unit level.”
The airmen had to rebuild the whole jet entirely – rewiring it from scratch, reconstructing the cockpit and avionics, and reapplying the radar-absorbing coating for its stealth capabilities. They worked long hours alongside Lockheed technicians but eventually managed to restore and reinstall everything from the landing gear to flight controls.
After successful ground tests and flight checks at Hill, the 388th sent the rebuilt jet to Lockheed’s Fort Worth, Texas, facilities for final certifications. It will eventually return to the 388th Fighter Wing to rejoin front-line operations under the 4th Fighter Squadron.
Of course, the project being a first of its kind meant that getting the Franken-bird back in the air as a truly operational unit was uncharted territory. So, the maintainers provided a lot of feedback. This info will get rolled into the technical guides that all F-35 teams use, which will help ensure proper future maintenance to keep these jets safe.
Most impressively, the restoration’s expenses remained under $6 million. By comparison, a new F-35A Lightning II costs over $80 million. The Air Force’s ability to resurrect a cutting-edge fighter from salvaged remnants represents an impressive achievement as well as substantial savings.
Image credit: 388th Fighter Wing
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