China Is Incapable of Salvaging Crashed US F-35C Jet in the South China Sea: Former US Navy Captain

An F-35C Lightning II from the 'Rough Raiders' of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 125 preparing to make an arrested cable landing on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), off the coast of Southern California, on Oct. 18, 2017. Sean M. Castellano/ Navy Office of Information/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. Navy is conducting a salvage operation of the F-35C fighter jet that crashed in the South China Sea last month, which analysts say is a necessary operation to prevent the advanced technology from falling into the hands of the Chinese regime.

However, a former U.S. Pacific Command official told The Epoch Times that “China is not capable of salvaging the aircraft.”