An F-35B Lighting II—which has been called a ‘beastly airplane—landed Sunday on an amphibious assault ship at an undisclosed location in the Pacific, an event the Navy touted as a new era of “up-gunned” air-sea capability, Stars and Stripes reported.
The F-35B was assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit based in Okinawa, Japan, and will provide support to Navy-Marine Corps expeditionary operations and help strengthen alliances in the region, the Navy Times reported citing a press release.
.@thef35 "B" has touched down on @USNavy amphibious warship @USSWaspLHD1 marking a significant leap in warfighting capabilities for amphibs https://t.co/BkenkVi5GA pic.twitter.com/Bg0pxCoLYD
— Amphibious Warships (@amphibwarships) March 5, 2018
It is unclear how many F-35s were deployed and it comes amid continued tension in the area. The North Korean nuclear situation remains unstable and China continues work to extend into the South China Sea.
“Pairing F-35B Lightning IIs with the Wasp represents one of the most significant leaps in war-fighting capability for the Navy-Marine Corps team in our lifetime,” Rear Adm. Brad Cooper, commander, Expeditionary Strike Group 7, said in a statement. – READ MORE
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