<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Debris from a stealth jet that went missing after the pilot ejected has been found, the US military said Monday, after a day in which failure to track the $80 million aircraft drew amazement and ridicule in equal measure.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The debris field from the F-35 was found in Williamsburg County, South Carolina, two hours northeast of Joint Base Charleston (JBC), officials said in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Members of the community should avoid the area as the recovery team secures the debris field," the statement read.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When the jet disappeared over South Carolina on Sunday, JBC issued a plaintive call on social media asking for anyone who had information about it to call in.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Flight tracking sites showed several search aircraft focused on a wooded and farmland area near Stuckey, which is in Williamsburg County, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of Charleston, late Monday afternoon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The F-35 Lightning II jet is coveted by US allies around the world, especially Ukraine, with its distinctive shape and features that shield it from radar detection.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The pilot ejected for unknown reasons and parachuted safely into a North Charleston neighborhood on Sunday -- leaving the jet flying in what some called a "zombie state."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 1989 the pilot of a malfunctioning Soviet MiG-23 ejected over Poland and the jet continued to fly on autopilot until it crashed in Kortrijk, Belgium, more than 900 kilometers (560 miles) away.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The disappearance of a highly advanced aircraft sparked incredulous comments online.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"How in the hell do you lose an F-35? How is there not a tracking device and we're asking the public to what, find a jet and turn it in?" said Nancy Mace, a member of Congress representing the Charleston area.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Hard for radar to detect -</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some posted manipulated photographs of lost signs on trees, offering rewards to find the missing jet.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One post showed Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky posing in front of an F-35, suggesting he took it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since Russia invaded his country last year, Zelensky has been pressing the United States to supply his air force with advanced US jets to give his military an advantage.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The US has begun training Ukraine pilots on F-16s.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The missing aircraft was an F-35B, a variation operated by the Marines that has short takeoff and vertical landing capabilities.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The shape of its airframe, including two angled stabilizers on the back, and the use of special materials make it harder for traditional radar to detect.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">JBC spokesman Jeremy Huggins told the Washington Post that the jet's transponder was not working, and that its stealth capabilities added to the challenges of tracking it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At least seven F-35s have been destroyed in previous crashes, due to a range of causes. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">bnbd24/kh</div>