Marines assigned to the ‘Flying Leathernecks’ of Marine Fighter Squadron (VMFA) 122 perform maintenance on an F-35B Lightning II on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6) on Oct. 3, 2019. US Navy Photo
Lockheed Martin and the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office inked a long-awaited $34-billion deal to build the next three batches of 478 stealthy fighters.
Thirteen U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 122, Marine Aircraft Group 13, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW), and two Marine Medium Tilt-Rotor Squadron (VMM-166) are staged aboard amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) on Oct. 8, 2019. America is at sea conducting routine operations in the eastern Pacific. US Navy photo.
The Navy and Marine Corps recently tested out the “Lightning Carrier” concept of packing an amphibious assault ship with F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter jets, and they will likely continue to expand and exercise this capability. Read More
A Marine with Echo Company, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, posts security during a simulated airfield seizure after a long-range raid from the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) at Ie Shima Training Facility, Okinawa, Japan, Aug. 12, 2019. US Marine Corps photo.
The U.S. Marine Corps has been refining a pair of related concepts, Expeditionary Advance Base Operations (EABO) and the overarching Littoral Operations in a Contested Environment, for the past couple years. Read More
USS Wasp (LHD-1) transits the Coral Sea. Wasp, flagship of the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, with embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit on Aug. 1, 2019. US Navy Photo
After less than two years forward-deployed, big deck amphib USS Wasp (LHD-1) has left Japan. Read More
U.S. Marines with 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, currently attached to 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, conduct morning accountability before dawn on April 5, 2019 during Exercise Balikatan at the Navy Education Training Command, Philippines. US Marine Corps Photo
CAPITOL HILL – The next commandant may need to reduce the size of the Marine Corps and focus on a smaller number of priority missions, to ensure that the service can stay ready to meet its requirements under the National Defense Strategy in a resource-constrained budget. Read More
The following is the April 25, 2019 Government Accountability Officer report, F-35 Aircraft Sustainment: DOD Needs to Address Substantial Supply Chain Challenges. Read More
USS America, (LHA-6), houses 12 F35-B Lightning II aircraft off the coast of Calif., on Nov. 18, 2016. US Marine Corps Photo
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Japan-based 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit is already considering how next year’s arrival of new amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6) will affect operations in the forward-deployed amphibious force. Read More
An F-35B Lightning II jet performs a vertical landing during a field carrier landing practice at Ie Shima Island, Okinawa, Japan, on Dec. 5, 2018. US Marine Corps Photo
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Marine Corps is learning how to incorporate its new F-35B Joint Strike Fighter jets into its island-hopping concept of Expeditionary Advance Base Operations, with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit rehearsing this concept recently in the Pacific. Read More
Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD-2) transits the Gulf of Aden during a vertical replenishment while on a regularly scheduled deployment of Essex Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). US Navy Photo
ARLINGTON, Virginia – The F-35B Joint Strike Fighter is not only changing the way Marine forces conduct their missions, it is also changing the way the amphibious navy can do its work in the absence of an aircraft carrier, leaders from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit and Essex Amphibious Ready Group said. Read More
U.S. Marine Sgt. Maj. Allen Goodyear, the squadron sergeant major for Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211, Marine Aircraft Group 13, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, signals for an F-35B Lightning II to take off from the flight deck of the USS Essex (LHD-2) during Exercise Dawn Blitz. US Marine Corps Photo
CAPITOL HILL – A move to a continuous upgrade system for the Joint Strike Fighter software will help pilots deploy with the latest and greatest warfighting capabilities, but the move is costing the Navy the ability to procure more new planes in the near-term, officials told the Senate this week. Read More
