IWAKUNI, Japan, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- The U.S. Marines have relocated the first operational F-35B Lightning II squadron from a base in Arizona to Japan.
The relocation makes the Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni, Japan, the first location to receive the branch's F-35 variant as part of the plane's worldwide deployment capability.
Defense News reports 10 F-35Bs from the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, or VMFA-121, departed for Japan, and an additional six are scheduled to join them at a later date.
In a statement, the Marine Corps hailed the event as a milestone for the F-35 program. The relocation follows the final testing period for the 5th-generation fighter, in which Marine Corps pilots operated F-35Bs in Developmental Test III and the Lightning Carrier Proof of Concept Demonstration aboard the USS America in October 2016.
[excerpted]
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2017/01/11/US-Marines-move-first-F-35B-squadron-to-Japan/3671484149028/?spt=mps&or=4&sn=si
