US Air Force’s ‘Franken-bird’ takes flight

• Based at Hill Air Force Base, the 388th Fighter Wing undertook the ambitious task of merging two damaged F-35A jets into a single fully operational aircraft. The rebuild cost $6 million and will put an $82 million aircraft back into service.
• The project showcased USAF maintenance personnel’s expertise and commitment to enhancing the fleet’s performance.
• This first-of-its-kind aircraft, affectionately dubbed the “Franken-bird,” made its inaugural flight on Jan. 16.

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A seemingly normal-looking F-35 recently took flight, but there was nothing ordinary about it. The aircraft is the result of an effort to merge two damaged F-35s into a single stealth fighter.

This first-of-its-kind aircraft, affectionately dubbed the “Franken-bird,” made its inaugural flight on Jan. 16, according to a spokesperson from the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah.

Two damaged F-35A Lightning IIs restored into one operational aircraft. Known as the “Franken-bird,” it involved the F-35 JPO, Ogden ALC, 388th FW, and Lockheed Martin. https://t.co/DeIiXg8RmJ

— Hill Air Force Base (@HAFB) February 3, 2025

How did the US Air Force create ‘Franken-bird’?

The U.S. Air Force created the co-joined aircraft from one F-35 that suffered damage from a nose-gear collapse at Hill Air Force Base in 2020, and another involved in an engine fire at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, in 2014.

“Work began on the feasibility of this project in January 2020, when the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) reached out to us because we had already accomplished significant damage restoration projects for the F-22,” Scott Taylor, Lockheed Martin’s lead mechanical engineer, said.

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This interagency project involved the F-35 JPO, Ogden Air Logistics Complex, the 388th Fighter Wing and Lockheed Martin. It cost $6 million, significantly less than the typical $82 million for a brand-new F-35A.

“When we received the aircraft, it was pretty much a shell,” Senior Airman Jaguar Arnold, the aircraft’s dedicated crew chief from the 4th Fighter Generation Squadron, said. “There were a lot of tasks to complete that we hadn’t done before at the unit level.”

An Air Force press release detailed how the team reinstalled the landing gear and procured and installed new flight controls, among other tasks. Flight line maintenance shops rarely see this type of work.

What happens next for the aircraft?

Lockheed Martin estimated that the “Franken-bird” could return to duty by late March at the earliest.

Once it receives its final certifications, the jet will return to Hill Air Force Base, where the 4th Fighter Squadron will fly it.