In First, Marine Corps F-35 Fighters Deploy Aboard British Aircraft Carrier

[rangerrebew]

    Military News

In First, Marine Corps F-35 Fighters Deploy Aboard British Aircraft Carrier
 
23 Sep 2020
Military.com | By Hope Hodge Seck

The Marines' 5th-generation fighter jets have just departed on an unprecedented deployment -- embarked not on a U.S. Navy ship, but on the United Kingdom's only aircraft carrier.

Ten F-35B Joint Strike Fighters embarked the carrier Queen Elizabeth on Tuesday from Portsmouth, England, as part of a multi-month training deployment, according to a Marine Corps news release. It's in preparation for the Queen Elizabeth's inaugural full-length deployment, set to take place next year.

The Marine Corps F-35s, from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211, out of Yuma, Arizona, will be joined in training by British F-35Bs from the U.K.'s 617 Squadron, "The Dambusters." The Marine Corps and the U.K. are the only two entities that fly the B-variant of the F-35, which comes equipped with lift fans that allow for short takeoff and vertical landing -- a crucial feature when operating from short flight decks at sea.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/09/23/first-marine-corps-f-35-fighters-deploy-aboard-british-aircraft-carrier.html

[PeteS in CA]

Though supposedly convertible, the QE carriers have neither catapults nor arrestors, so they have to operate with F-35s, AV-8Bs (if any are still in service), and helicopters.