A plane F-22 Raptor fighter da United States Air Force (USAF) suffered a front landing gear collapse on Thursday (12). The incident occurred at Kadena air base, in Okinawa, southern Japan, where the US maintains a large military contingent. 

According to portal The Aviationist, citing Japanese media, the 5th generation jet suffered problems during landing. The incident with the landing gear would have occurred while the plane was being towed, off the runway and when the engines were already turned off. No one is hurt. 

In the images you can see the fighter with its nose resting on the ground, indicating that the front leg has retracted in some way. It is possible to observe emergency teams and military technicians around the aircraft. Other photos recorded later show a crane lifting the aircraft. At this time, the extent of the damage to the aircraft is not known. 

There is another one… pic.twitter.com/MDKXJlgz2M

- @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) April 12, 2024

This is the second time in two years that an F-22 has suffered such an incident. In March 2022, a Raptor suffered a front landing gear collapse at Eglin Air Base in the USA. Recently, other landing gear collapses were recorded, including one at the Okinawa base itself. These occurrences, however, involved F-35 Lightning II fighters, also 5th generation. 

Kadena is one of the United States' main bases outside its national territory. The space on Okinawa Island has been occupied since the end of World War II. In 2022, the USAF began withdrawing its squadron of F-15 Eagle fighters from the base in Kadena, as it was retiring the planes. Until a permanent fighter unit is established, other squadrons rotate deployments in Kadena. The F-22s arrived at the base on the 05th of this month.