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The U.S. Navy says it has concluded its support of search and recovery efforts
related to a Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-35A Joint Strike Fighter that
crashed off the coast of that country last month. The Japanese are continuing to
look for parts of the plane, including its flight data recorder, as well as the
pilot, who remains missing.
The Navy's 7th Fleet made the announcement on May 8, 2019. At that time, the
service's only assets aid in the search and recovery operation were a salvage
team on board a chartered deep sea construction vessel, Ultra Deep Solutions'
Van Gogh. Between Apr. 9, 2019, when the F-35A first went missing, and Apr. 17,
2019, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Stethem and a pair of P-8A Poseidon
maritime patrol aircraft had also contributed to the search efforts,
collectively covering a total area of more than 5,000 square nautical miles. A
U.S. Air Force U-2 Dragon Lady spy plane had also conducted at least one sortie
over the area and it is not clear if that service is still assisting with the
search and recovery missions.
The salvage team on Van Gogh had deployed the Cable-controlled Undersea Recovery
Vehicle 21, or CURV-21, a remotely operated vehicle, to survey the seabed near
where searchers had already found debris. This is a 6,400-pound system that can
operate at depths up to 20,000 deep. It has its own sonar to help detect objects
of interest and still and full motion video cameras to gather imagery. Operators
can equip it with various tool and grabbing arms as required to actually
manipulate or recover objects it finds. The Navy had also deployed the CURV-21
in 2017 to help search for the submarine ARA San Juan after its tragic accident.
The naval salvage unit had also brought a Towed Pinger Locator 25, or TPL-25.
Dragged behind a ship, this system can reportedly detect pings from certain
emergency systems on aircraft at depths of up to 25,000 feet. The CURV-21 would
have been able to further investigate any signals the TPL-25 picked up.
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Though Japanese and American officials have downplayed the concerns, the downed
F-35A remains a potential security risk. Joint Strike Fighters are made with
classified materials and sensitive manufacturing science. Even small parts could
just offer valuable industrial intelligence.
There is a possibility that other foreign actors, such as Russia or China, could
seek to locate the crash site or related debris fields and retrieve portions of
the stealth fighter, which could offer valuable intelligence. Russia just
recently added to its already particularly extensive fleet of special projects
submarines capable of deep-sea work, including the possible ability to deploy
their own manned and unmanned deeper-diving submersibles.
Debris has already come to the surface, including the aircraft's tail, too. As
time goes on, currents could take that very far from the initial crash site.
This could all complicate any decision to declare an end to the search and
recovery efforts without securing the majority of the plane. Japanese
authorities have not yet given any firm date for when the mission will end.
The U.S. Navy, however, has clearly decided that its services are no longer
required.
more at
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