January 6, 2022
F-35Cs Now Deploying Aboard U.S. Navy Aircraft Carriers
Is the Navy buying enough F-35Cs to project power into the Pacific, where it may be difficult to base aircraft on land?
by Kris Osborn
The F-35C reached a milestone when it deployed aboard the USS Carl Vinson in 2021. It was the first time the carrier-launched fighter deployed with an air wing on a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier.
The deployment of the F-35C aboard carriers changes the threat equation by multiplying the kinds of dilemmas the U.S. Navy could present to its adversaries. The fifth-generation stealth fighter has been operational for some time, but didn’t deploy aboard a carrier until August 2021.
This new capability better allows the Navy to project power while at sea. Upgraded F/A-18s might have trouble countering advanced Russian or Chinese air defense systems or challenging an enemy’s fifth-generation fighters. The deployment of the F-35C could reshape this dynamic. Using speed and stealth, an F-35C may be able to elude advanced surface-to-air missiles and destroy them from the air. This would open a corridor through which fourth-generation aircraft could attack. The F-35C might also be able to defeat rival fifth-generation assets such as a Chinese J-20 or Russian Su-57.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/f-35cs-now-deploying-aboard-us-navy-aircraft-carriers-199056
