Marine Corps F-35Cs Make First Arrested Landings At An Expeditionary Airfield
When it comes to austere operations, the F-35C shows it can do much of what the F-35B can and more as the Marines gear up for a fight in the Pacific.
ByJames DeboerDecember 9, 2020
The War Zone
F-35C arrestor cable landing
While much has been written about the expeditionary capabilities of the U.S. Marine Corps’ F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing, or STOVL, version of the Joint Strike Fighter, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314, or VMFA-314, is adding short field and austere operations capabilities to its brand-new F-35C carrier-capable variants. Our correspondent James Deboer ventured out to Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in 29 Palms to see the historic demonstration—which could have major impacts on USMC strategy and procurement—for himself. Here is this full report.
The squadron, known as the “Black Knights,†is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, and is the first in the USMC to receive the F-35C.
James Deboer
F-35C from VMFA-314 about to make history by catching a mobile arresting gear on an expeditionary runway at 29 Palms.
The “Black Knights†are used to making history. This was the first USMC squadron to receive the F-4B Phantom II back in 1961, and in 1982 it was the first operational squadron anywhere in the U.S. military to fly the F/A-18A/B “legacy†Hornet.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/38068/marine-corps-f-35cs-make-first-arrested-landings-at-an-expeditionary-airfield
