Japan F-35B fighter team F-35B US Marines suffered damaged by lightning when operating near Iwakuni base, but still landed safely.

The F-35B fighter team is based on the Iwakuni base in Japan with lightning in the flight on July 13, but the information only reveals the US Marines last week.

After implementing the evaluation process and reporting, the weather-related incident is classified as Group A due to the expected repair costs exceeding $ 2.5 million.

F-35B American fighter at the Iwakuni base in Japan in August 2020.

Group A incident is the most serious level in the US military evaluation ladder, which is defined as accidents causing damage over $ 2.5 million with talent gas or making the aircraft completely damaged, yes

F-35 fighters have met a series of issues with lightning protection, causing concerns about the risk of explosion during operation and maintenance.

The F-35 has an inert gas generation system (Obiggs), designed to pump nitrogen gas into the fuel system, preventing the risk of oil and oxygen steam accumulation, preventing the risk of fire.

The F-35B variant of the Marines using the Obiggs system differs from the F-35A, making them less at risk of explosion due to lightning on the ground, but still not avoiding a threat from a lot of lightning.