F-35B Stealth Fighter Deploys For 1st Time Aboard U.S. Navy Ship in Indo-Pacific

Di Vincenzo Santo*

(Da The Diplomat – 6 marzo 2018)

Washington. A detachment of F-35Bs, the U.S. Marine Corps’ short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant of the supersonic fifth-generation F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, deployed for the first time this week aboard the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Wasp currently operationally deployed in the Indo-Pacific region.

“VFMFA-121 (Fighter Attack Squadron 121), assigned under the Okinawa-based 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, will remain embarked aboard Wasp for a regional patrol meant to strengthen regional alliances, provide rapid-response capability, and advance the Up-Gunned ESG (Expeditionary Strike Group) concept,” […] The Up-Gunned ESG concept is meant to boost the combat power of amphibious ready groups.

The USS Wasp, commissioned in 1989, has a crew of over 1,000 officers and sailors and can embark around 2,200 Marines, as well as smaller amphibious assault crafts, and around 31 aircraft, including F-35Bs, AV-8B Harrier IIs, MH-60S Knighthawk helicopters, AH-1Z Viper helicopters, and MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. […] features an upgraded flight deck to operate the F-35B. In total, the USS Wasp can accommodate up to six F-35Bs. […]

A detachment of F-35Bs, the U.S. Marine Corps’ short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant of the supersonic fifth-generation F-35B Lightning

*Generale CA ris

© RIPRODUZIONE RISERVATA

Autore