The US assembled a combat-ready F-35 from two damaged aircraft

6 February, 2025 F-35 fighter jet assembled from two aircraft. Source: www.hill.af.mil U.S. aircraft mechanics have completed a lengthy project to restore an F-35A aircraft from two separate damaged machines and are beginning to return it to the field.

This is the first time that technicians have successfully reassembled F-35As from different jets to create a single operational aircraft. One aircraft was damaged by a landing gear failure in 2020, and the other was damaged by an engine fire at an air base in Florida in 2014. The project, known as Franken-bird, was a collaboration between the F-35 Joint Program Office, Ogden Air Force Base, the 388th Fighter Wing, and Lockheed Martin.

During the project, the team created unique equipment for connecting aircraft sections.

F-35 fighter jet assembled from two aircraft. Source: www.hill.af.mil

The methods developed at this project stage have the potential for future use in repairing aircraft damage.

"When we received the aircraft, it was almost an empty shell. There were many tasks we hadn't done before," the mechanics noted. The team, along with Lockheed Martin engineers and technicians, rewired the aircraft, rebuilt the cockpit, and installed various components.

Because the mechanics were performing so many tasks for the first time in the field, they were able to provide feedback that will be used to update the technical data used by all F-35 technicians when installing and testing new components. In addition to the experience and expertise gained, the cost savings to the Air Force as a result of the aircraft's remanufacturing was significant.

F-35 fighter jet assembled from two aircraft.

Source: www.hill.af.mil

The project is estimated to have cost less than £6 million. The new F-35A costs more than £80 million. After a successful functional test flight, the aircraft went to Lockheed Martin for final certification, after which it would return to service with the US Air Force.

In 2023, it was reported that South Korea would write off the fifth-generation F-35 fighter jet damaged after colliding with a bird.