The incident took place when the F-35A Lightning II was flying over Japanese territory and issued a distress signal "7700," indicating a critical malfunction or emergency requiring immediate intervention.
According to Flightradar monitoring data, contact with the fighter was completely lost just a few minutes after the distress signal was sent, after which it vanished from radar.
At this time, information about the fate of the pilot and the reasons for the aircraft's disappearance remains unknown.
The F-35A Lightning II is the latest modification of the fifth-generation multifunctional aircraft, which first took to the skies in 2006 and was adopted by the US Air Force in 2016. This aircraft is designed to engage both air and ground targets and can carry B61-12 thermonuclear bombs.
