MAY 15, 2025 – In January 2022, a Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) F-35A aircraft experienced a bird strike that necessitated an emergency landing with the landing gear retracted.
Following a joint assessment by the ROKAF and the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO), it was determined that the damage resulting from both the bird strike and the gear-up landing was extensive enough to render the aircraft unsuitable for continued operational service.
Drawing on lessons from previous F-35 JPO repair and refurbishment initiatives, most notably the successful “Frankenjet” project, which combined two damaged F-35As into one fully operational aircraft, the ROKAF and the JPO made a strategic decision to repurpose the damaged airframe as a maintenance training platform for ROKAF personnel.
While the initial concept appeared straightforward, several logistical and technical challenges quickly emerged.
The first major obstacle involved relocating the aircraft from one base to another. Due to the aircraft’s wingspan, overland transportation posed significant cost and feasibility issues. However, leveraging expertise developed during prior JPO reuse efforts, the team devised a plan to remove and later reinstall the aircraft’s wings, thereby enabling a safer and more cost-effective transfer. With ROKAF approval, the damaged F-35A served as a testbed for this new capability.
As implementation progressed, a coordinated team—including representatives from Lockheed Martin, the 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—assembled in the Republic of Korea. Over several weeks, they successfully executed the wing removal process.
“This was a significant challenge, as it was the first attempt at removing F-35 wings as part of a concept demonstration,” said Matt Trodden, LST Aircraft Crash Recovery Lead Engineer. “Despite early doubts, the team worked seamlessly and completed the operation several weeks ahead of schedule, validating the feasibility of wing removal and reinstallation.”
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.
Article contributions from Daniel Santos, F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office
Story by F-35 Joint Program Office Public Affairs
F-35 Joint Program Office