China-built salvage ship helps pull wreck of US Navy fighter from disputed waters
A Chinese-made ship was at the centre of a US Navy salvage operation last week to recover the wreck of an F-35C fighter jet from the South China Sea, according to Chinese media.
Personnel pulled the wreckage of the fighter jet from 3,780 metres below the surface on Wednesday using lift lines from the crane of the diving support construction vessel (DSCV) Picasso, the US Seventh Fleet said last week.
The Picasso, owned and run by Ultra Deep Solutions (UDS), a Singapore-based deep diving heavy construction vessel operator, was built by China Merchants Heavy Industries, one of China’s top three state-owned shipbuilders.
DSCVs are a type of specialised vessel for deep water salvage, installation, inspection and repair.
The Picasso is one of the most advanced in service and is equipped with an advanced remotely operated vehicle known as the Curv-21, which can dive to more than 3,000 metres.
In last week’s salvage operation for the F-35C Lightning II, the Curv-21 attached special rigging and lift lines to the aircraft.
Then the crane’s lifting hook was lowered to the sea floor and connected to the rigging, and the aircraft was hoisted to the surface aboard the Picasso, according to the Seventh Fleet.
Chinese-made DSCVs have been used before to recover jets from the sea floor. In 2019, an F-35A from the Japan Air SelfDefence Force crashed into the Pacific Ocean, and the Van Gogh, another DSCV from the Singaporean firm, was involved in the salvage operation.
State-run tabloid Global Times reported on Friday that the Van Gogh was also made by CMHI and was one of five Chinese-made vessels operated by UDS.
Military analyst Song Zhongping said China was a leader in shipbuilding, particularly in specialist vessels, and it was no surprise that ships made in the country were involved in the operation.
“This shows the need for cooperation between the US and China,” he said.
The F-35C went down in the South China Sea on January 24 after a “landing mishap” during routine flight operations on the USS Carl Vinson.
Seven sailors were injured but the pilot ejected and was rescued by helicopter.
The wreckage was located in a northern portion of the South China Sea, roughly 300km west of the Philippines and 565km east of Woody Island in the Paracels, one of China’s major military bases in the disputed waters.
The sensitive location of the crash raised speculation that the Chinese military could try to recover the wreckage.
The Seventh Fleet began the salvage operation several days after the crash and said the effort showed the US Navy’s commitment to its assets, and a free and open Indo-Pacific.
This shows the need for cooperation between the US and China
MILITARY ANALYST SONG ZHONGPING