F-35 fighter jet crashes in Alaska; pilot safe

(Reuters) - An F-35 fighter jet crashed during a training exercise at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska on Tuesday, but the pilot was safe after bailing out, base officials said.

The pilot experienced an "in-flight malfunction," and was able to eject from the aircraft, U.S. Air Force Colonel Paul Townsend, commander of the 354th Fighter Wing, told a news conference, according to a report from the Associated Press.

The crash happened while landing during a training exercise, according to the report.

Eielson Air Force Base said in a statement that the incident on Tuesday afternoon resulted in "significant damage" to the F-35 Lightning II aircraft.

The pilot was safe and taken to Bassett Army Hospital, according to the statement.

"I can assure you the United States Air Force will conduct a thorough investigation in hopes to minimize the chances of such occurrences from happening again," Townsend said in the statement.

The F-35 is the most expensive U.S. defense program and Lockheed Martin's LMT.N biggest revenue generator, contributing about 30% of its bottom line.

Lockheed said earlier on Tuesday it would be less profitable than expected in 2025, in part because of a delayed rollout of upgrades to the F-35.

The Pentagon plans to spend $1.7 trillion on the F-35 program, including buying 2,500 planes in the coming decades.

(Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed and Gerry Doyle)