US Navy’s F-35 fighter jet crashes near California base

US Navy’s F-35 fighter jet crashes near California base

A US Navy F-35 crashed in California on Wednesday, but the pilot managed to safely eject, officials say. Fox News

July, 31 2025

(Web Desk): An F-35C fighter jet went down near Naval Air Station Lemoore in Southern California, causing a fiery crash while a Navy pilot is safe after the untoward incident.

According to NAS Lemoore, "An aviation incident on the operations side of the installation" took place at around 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

The jet crashed in a field near the intersection of South Dickenson Avenue and West Cadillac Ave and burst into flames, a California Highway Patrol report stated.

NAS Lemoore confirmed via Facebook that "we can confirm the pilot successfully ejected and is safe. There are no additional affected personnel.”

A FOX News report revealed that the crash caused a small grass fire spanning about ten acres, according to a CAL Fire incident report. It was completely contained by 8:32 p.m. local time.

Details surrounding what caused the crash were not immediately available.

NAS Lemoore is the Navy s largest Master Jet Base and is home to more than a dozen squadrons – training and operational.

The base said on Facebook that the F-35C involved in the crash was attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 125 "Rough Raiders," a specialized training unit.

Fox News Digital reached out to NAS Lemoore but did not hear back by time of publication.