On Thursday, July 31, 2025, the press office of the U.S. Navy air station NAS Lemoore confirmed media reports about the crash of a carrier-based Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II multirole aircraft in Kings County, near the military installation. The incident occurred at 6:30 p.m. local time, and the aircraft belonged to Strike Fighter Squadron 125 “Rough Raiders” (VFA-125), which is based at NAS Lemoore. The pilot managed to eject safely.
F-35C over NAS Lemoore / Photo: Government of the US state of California
“NAS Lemoore confirms an aviation incident on the operational side of the base. At 6:30 p.m., an F-35C aircraft assigned to VFA-125 Rough Raiders crashed near NAS Lemoore. We can confirm that the pilot successfully ejected and is safe. There are no other injuries,” read a brief Facebook post from the base.
Earlier, U.S. media outlets reported on the crash, sharing photos and video footage showing the wreckage on fire.
This was the second crash involving a carrier-based F-35C, a variant operated exclusively by the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC). As of December 2024, a total of 100 F-35C aircraft had been delivered.
The first crash occurred on January 22, 2022, during a landing on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. The aircraft belonged to Strike Fighter Squadron 147 “Argonauts” (VFA-147). The pilot ejected successfully, but seven sailors were injured. According to video footage, the jet struck the carrier’s deck, the pilot ejected, and the aircraft slid off the deck into the South China Sea. The wreckage was recovered on March 3.
Today’s incident is also the second F-35 family crash this year. On January 28, a conventional F-35A belonging to the U.S. Air Force (USAF) crashed at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska. The pilot also ejected safely.
Earlier, on May 28, 2024, a U.S. Marine Corps F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) variant crashed near Albuquerque International Sunport and Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. The pilot ejected but sustained injuries.
A F-35C crashed at Naval Air Station Lemoore in central California today. The aviator ejected safely. – ABC News pic.twitter.com/8XUChWm2HV
— Faytuks Network (@FaytuksNetwork) July 31, 2025
🚨#BREAKING: emergency officials are on the scene after a United States military f-35 jet has crash and burst into flames
At this time military officials and emergency crews are currently on scene at Lemoore Naval Air Station in Fresno County,… pic.twitter.com/XCRg0BUv2y
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) July 31, 2025
BREAKING #Lemoore / #California
Reports from CHP that an F35 jet has “crashed” or landed near NAS Lemoore and is engulfed in flames. Civilian and military first responders are en route
S Dickenson Ave / W Cadillac Ave In Lemoore@Aviation_Intel @thenewarea51 @aviationbrk pic.twitter.com/xMji7GO5Vf
— OC Scanner 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 (@OC_Scanner) July 31, 2025
F-35 Naval Aircraft Down in Kings County. From Lemoore Naval Air Station 🙏 pic.twitter.com/GOefbmIYcz
— AEI-Equipment (@AeiFire) July 31, 2025
