I've been looking at the background of these photos and I would swear that's Area 51!
Never knew you can get guided tours of that place!
LOL ;-)
I always took my Nikon gear and lenses everywhere even when deployed and I have photos that will never see the light of day, so to speak, and my main "walkabout" lens still shows bullet damage but works fine with no issues or damage to the glass. I could have it repaired, but the cost would be more than a new lens.
It is a genuine Nikkor lens and a fantastic example. My reasoning goes:
This works fine with no issues at all despite the chunks missing. Repair, replace or a new model kit..... Hmmmmm!