2nd F-35B ‘Fighter Attack Squadron’ Now Fully Operational In Japan Amid US-China ‘War Of Words’
By
Ashish Dangwal
May 24, 2022
With 32 F-35B stealth fighter jets, US Marine Corps Fighter Attack Squadron 242 at Iwakuni, Japan, was recently declared fully operational, significantly boosting the US and Japan’s shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 242 attained Full Operational Capability (FOC) on May 17, 2022, and about 32 F-35B aircraft have been permanently forward-based as part of the USMC’s Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 12, the service announced in a statement.
In January 2017, MAG-12 fielded the first forward-based F-35B squadron. At the time, VMFA-121 was assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan.
MAG-12 is now the only forward-based unit in the Indo-Pacific with two permanently based F-35B squadrons, owing to the addition of VMFA-242.
https://eurasiantimes.com/2nd-f-35b-fighter-attack-squadron-now-fully-operational-in-japan/
