Stealth Fighter Parked on N. Texas Country Road

Stealth Fighter Parked on N. Texas Country Road

www.nbcdfw.com

You just never know what gems you may stumble upon while driving the scenic byways and highways of Texas. You may find a really great BBQ joint or a kitschy country store selling irresistible knickknacks -- or maybe a state-of-the-art stealth fighter parked on the side of the road.
What?
Yep. That's what we said when we saw the photos Craig Levisay sent to our 5 and 6 p.m. anchor Mike Snyder this morning. Levisay found what appears to be a Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft, b

(visit the link for the full news article)

Wow, this is close to my favorite golf course in Mansfield, TX.

Just heard a story about it on the radio, apparently there was no one guarding the plane!!!

What would you think if you were driving down a country road and happened upon this? Would you take it for a spin if the keys were in it? Do these planes have a key??

So far Lockheed Martin has had no comment, what in the heck was this plane doing out there?



www.nbcdfw.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Looking at the picture, its a "C" model or the naval variant.

The days of one factory building an airframe from start to finish are long gone. are long gone

The primes like Boeing, LockMart, EADS, etc. are more of a system intergrator with components coming from many different contractors. It reduces development time and cost and spreads out risk. So its possible this one was being moved to have work don on it etc.

The prime contractor for the F-35 is Lockheed martin who is based in Fort Worth and the picture was taken in a city thats less than 15 miles or so from there. They guy may have been inside or something else happened. I would expect if it truly is an F-35 it would have been guarded or at least have an escort.

[edit on 6/25/10 by FredT]

no there aren't keys for military aircraft. You just have to know which toggles to switch on! That would sure break up the monotony of the daily drive to work! I know jets are capable of landing on our eisenhower interstate system roads, was this an interstate highway or state road or what?

At this point we can only surmise that the transport truck had a malfunction and that calling AAA wasn't an option.

HAHA! That would be a career winning conversation.

Driver: "Yea, hi. I, uh, am having some trouble with my truck and need a tow."
AAA: "Sure thing, sir. Let me just get some information from you. Now, which vehicle are you driving, sir?"
Driver: "Um, my, um...rig"
AAA: "I see. So, we will need to locate a tractor tow truck in your area. Now, are you hauling any cargo right now sir?"
Driver: "Um, yea. I have a loaded flatbed."
AAA: "I see sir. Ok, so we should also get another flatbed tractor out there to secure your cargo then. What is it you are hauling?"
Driver: "Um, yea. Its, ahh, a, um...Navy Stealth Fighter Bomber."
AAA: "Certainly sir, so...wait, did you just say a..."

--Phone drops, 'thud', silence--

HAHA!

I've seen transports like this on I-40 just west of Albuquerque.

I don't think that it's all that uncommon.

I think the story goes like this.

Guy1- Are you sure we will be able to sneek theses weapons across the border?

Guy 2- yea! We just have to hide the truck behind this dirt pile til it gets dark. The federalis will never see us then.

Guy 1- Im sure glad you decided to cover it with a tarp...

Guy 2- We will be heros when the Zetas sees this weapons cache.