There have been some online claims which I took as humour that it had landed in Cuba... my actual thought was that the pilot had accidentally ejected himself and that the plane had ended up in the drink somewhere...

Notably the US defense dept. are asking the public for help: "My fellow Americans...can you help us find our lost $80 million jet? We've kinda mislaid it..." so at least the stealth works...but here's an interesting further comment by Will Schryver:

‼️ So apparently a US pilot, for reasons that remain unclear, ejected from a still-flying Marine Corps F-35B somewhere over South Carolina, but a frantic search cannot locate the abandoned jet. And now the USMC commandant has ordered a two-day "stand-down" for "all aviation units" around the world!!!

Note well, the order is not for "all F-35 units", but for "all aviation units".

To me, that must be interpreted as everything that flies — attack aircraft, tankers, helicopters, etc.

WHY?

This makes absolutely no sense at all — and STRONGLY suggests that they actually DO KNOW what happened to that F-35B ... and it must be DAMN SERIOUS — and somehow applicable to ALL AIRCRAFT for them to have ordered a total stand-down of "all aviation units".

Well ... I cannot for the life of me imagine what would warrant such an extreme action on the part of the US military. But it simply must be something that has severely spooked them.

Developing ...

https://nitter.net/imetatronink/status/1703891833032786106#m