Check Out This Marine CH-53K Carrying An F-35C While Refueling From A KC-130T
The new CH-53K is the most powerful helicopter in the Pentagon’s inventory and it provides a critical long-range, heavy-lift capability.
BY
JOSEPH TREVITHICK
|
PUBLISHED APR 25, 2024 9:36 PM EDT
A US Marine Corps CH-53K recently carried the stripped-down hulk of an F-35C fighter from one base to another and refueled in mid-air along the way.
JOSEPH TREVITHICK
AU.S. Marine Corps CH-53K King Stallion helicopter with a stripped-down hulk of an F-35C slung underneath refueling in mid-air from a KC-130T Hercules tanker/transport aircraft is a window into what the service's distributed aviation operations might look like in the future.
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A Marine CH-53K with a pilot from Marine Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 (VMX-1) at the controls recently did all of this while helping move the remains of the first F-35C test jet, also known as CF-1, from one base to another on April 24. The King Stallion carried the "inoperable airframe, which was without mission and propulsion systems, outer wings, or additional equipment" from Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland to Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Lakehurst some 160 miles to the northeast, according to a caption accompanying the picture seen at the top of this story, which was released yesterday. NAWCAD Lakehurst is situated within Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. What's left of CF-1 will be used for "future emergency recovery systems testing" at its new home in New Jersey, the Navy says.
https://www.twz.com/air/check-out-this-marine-ch-53k-carrying-an-f-35c-while-refueling-from-a-kc-130j
