The debris from a supersonic aircraft that went missing after the pilot evacuated has been found.
According to the US military, following a day in which the failure to monitor the $80 million aircraft aroused shock and criticism.
According to a statement released on X, the F-35 debris field was discovered in Williamsburg County, South Carolina, two hours northeast of Joint Base Charleston (JBC).
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The notification reads, " Community members should avoid the area as the recovery team secures the debris field,"
When the plane went missing over South Carolina on Sunday, JBC posted a heartfelt plea on social media for anyone with information to contact them.
Flight monitoring sites showed six search planes focusing late Monday afternoon on a woodland and farming region near Stuckey in Williamsburg County, about 75 120 kilometers north of Charleston.
With its unusual design and qualities that conceal it from radar detection, the F-35 Lightning II jet is wanted by US allies worldwide, particularly Ukraine.
On Sunday, the pilot ejected for unclear reasons and parachuted safely into a North Charleston neighborhood, leaving the jet in what some described as a "zombie state."
The pilot of a malfunctioning Soviet MiG-23 ejected over Poland in 1989, and the plane flew on autopilot until it crashed in Kortrijk, Belgium, more than 900 kilometers away.
The disappearance of a highly modern aircraft prompted outrage on social media. Nancy Mace, a congresswoman from the Charleston area, questioned How on earth they lost an F-35 and how there wasn't a tracking device.
