US Navy ends search for Japan's crashed F-35 after 'locating debris'

WASHINGTON - The US Navy on Wednesday ended searching for a downed F-35A near Japan, saying a salvage team managed to locate debris from the wreckage.

"A US Navy salvage team aboard a contracted vessel completed its mission supporting search and recovery operations with the Japan Self Defense Forces after locating debris from the downed JASDF F-35A off the coast of Japan, May 8," USNI news quoted the US 7th Fleet as saying, using the acronym for the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force.

The 7th Fleet noted that US warships and multiple aircraft took part in the search and rescue mission for the crashed F-35A jet, which went missing on April 9 about 137 km off the coast of Japan.

Japan's Defense Ministry confirmed that the crash in waters off Japan's northeast coast was the first of an F-35A anywhere in the world.

The crash not only raised questions about the reliability of the US-designed advanced fighter but also sparked concerns over the Japanese government's plans to buy 105 more of the 100-million-dollar fighters as it seeks to overhaul its aged fleet of mainstay jets under its controversial national defense guidelines.