The plane was a developmental model of the F-35 fighter jet, which was being delivered by Lockheed Martin, two Defense Department officials said. It had just taken off from Albuquerque and was en route to Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California, the officials said.
A spokesperson for Kirtland Air Force Base, which is located just southeast of Sunport, said that an Air Force pilot was “ferrying” the F-35 from the Lockheed Martin facility at Naval Air Reserve Station in Fort Worth, Texas, to Edwards AFB.
The pilot had landed at Kirtland at about 1 p.m. local time to refuel, and had just taken off bound for Edwards AFB when the crash occurred, the Kirtland spokesperson said.
Israeli Air Force openly says that they prefer their old F-16s over F-35. Finland just recently ordered 64 of these, allegedly working, expensive jet fighters.
