Balikatan 2019: F-35Bs and MV-22Bs Flight Ops

05/31/2019
U.S. Marine Corps F35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 and MV-22B Ospreys with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 268 conduct flight operations aboard the USS Wasp (LHD 1), April 3, 2019 in international airspace over the Philippine Sea.  The U.S. is proud to participate…

Balikatan 2019: USS WASP and F-35B Ops

05/22/2019
U.S. Marines with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 conduct daily maintenance checks and continue flight operations in international airspace while aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) in support of Exercise Balikatan.  The U.S. is proud to participate in the Philippines-led exercise in order to conduct capabilities development…

Refueling F-35B Over South China Sea

05/13/2019
An F-35B Lightning II attack jet flies alongside a KC-130J tanker aircraft attached to a refueling drogue during an aerial refueling mission above the East China Sea, Oct. 23, 2018.  The F-35B belongs to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 (VMFA-121) and the KC-130J belongs to Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron…

F-35Bs at Sea

02/13/2019
F-35B Lightning IIs with Medium Marine Tiltrotor Squadron 262 (Reinforced) conduct flight operations carrying Guided Bomb Units from the USS Wasp (LHD 1), Philippine Sea, Feb. 3, 2019.  Naval Aviators with the detachment fly the Marine Corps' newest, most advanced multi-role fighter, the F-35B.  The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, the…

VMFA-121 Operating from the USS Wasp

09/25/2018
A detachment of F-35B Lightning II's with Fighter Attack Squadron 121 (VMFA-121) arrived aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) March 5, marking the first time the aircraft has deployed aboard a U.S. Navy ship and with a Marine Expeditionary Unit in the Indo-Asian-Pacific. The F-35B, assigned under…

USS Essex Deployment and F-35B

09/17/2018
INDIAN OCEAN (Sept. 2 2018)  An F-35B Lightning II, attached to the “Avengers” of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211, prepares to launch from the flight deck of Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) during a regularly scheduled deployment of Essex Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and 13th Marine…

Working Distributed Basing: Leveraging the F-35B

06/06/2018
U.S. Marines with Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 prepare to refuel F-35 Lightning IIs during a Distributed Short Takeoff Vertical Landing Operation in support of Weapons and Tactics Instructor course 2-18 at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., March 30.  [maxgallery id="117909"] WTI is a seven-week training event…

The USMC and Norway: A Key Partnership in Shaping a 21st Century Deterrent Force

05/20/2018
The Marines are regular visitors to Norway and have prepositioned equipment in country.  As the Marines fly F-35Bs in the region and as the Norwegians continue to stand up their F-35 force, collaboration in this area will be accelerated as well. Working a diversity of basing options within a crisis…