US F-35 suffers millions in damage from bird strike

A US F-35 stealth bomber suffered millions of dollars in damage after being hit by a bird during take-off from an air base in Japan, the US Marine Corps said in a statement Wednesday. “On May 7, 2019 an F-35B with Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing aborted take-off due to a bird strike at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni and safely taxied off the runway,” the statement said. A damage assessment report has not yet been completed but the Marine Corps classified the incident as category “A”, meaning the damage bill is expected to exceed $2 million. The F-35 program was launched in the 1990s and has cost almost $400 billion, making it the most expensive weapons system ever developed by the Pentagon.