TOKYO—A Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) Lockheed Martin F-35A that was decommissioned following a 2022 bird strike incident has been transformed into a maintenance training aid, with help from the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) in an unprecedented wing removal and installation operation.
On Jan. 4, 2022, ROKAF F-35A ingested a bird into its Pratt & Whitney F135 engine, which forced the pilot to conduct a belly landing when unable to lower the landing gear.
The airframe itself was largely saved after the accident. However, a joint analysis with Lockheed Martin determined that approximately 300 components, including the airframe, structure, engine and control and navigation system, were damaged. ROKAF decided to write off the aircraft in December 2023.
ROKAF and the JPO removed the aircraft's wings to transport it from Seosan AB to Cheongju AB. The JPO told military news outlet DVIDS that it drew lessons from the 'Frankenjet' project and carried out a wing removal concept demonstration.
The project involved Lockheed's F-35 Lightning Support Team, ROKAF Logistics Command, ROKAF's 17th Fighter Wing, the U.S. Air Force's 309th Expeditionary Deployed Maintenance Squadron and the U.S. Navy's Forward Deployed Combat Repair and Fleet Readiness Center Southeast and was completed "several weeks" ahead of schedule.
"The success of this proof-of-concept has led to the integration of wing removal and reinstallation procedures into the F-35 program's standard heavy maintenance, repair and reuse protocols—demonstrating that full wing replacement is a practical and effective capability within the F-35 sustainment framework," the JPO said.
Aviation Week Fleet Discovery Military data show ROKAF operates 39 F-35As, with 25 more on order.
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