According to Naval Support Activity Bahrain,the US Marine Corps' F-35B Lightning II has been unleashed for combat operations in support of the counter-terrorist Operation Freedom's Sentinel in Afghanistan.On 27 September 2018,an F-35B conducted a successful airstrike to assist with ground clearance operations.
US Navy VADM Scott A. Stearney,commander,US Naval Forces Central Command:
As part of the Essex Amphibious Ready Group,this platform (the F-35B Lightning II) supports operations on the ground from international waters,all while enabling maritime superiority that enhances stability and security.*
The Essex ARG in turn belongs to the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit,which is the first combat-deployed MEU replacing the AV-8B Harrier with the Lockheed Martin F-35B.The F-35B scrambled for the mission is from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211,which is currently embarked on the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD-2).COL Chandler S. Nelms,13th MEU commander,said that:
The opportunity for us to be the first Navy-Marine Corps team to employ the F-35B in support of manoeuvre forces on the ground demonstrates one aspect of the capabilities this platform brings to the region,our allies and our partners.*
The F-35B,with its short takeoff/vertical landing capability,is the same variant of the Lightning II being acquired by the UK.*
CNN reported that the target on the 27 September Marine Corps mission was a fixed Taliban Islamist extremist location.The raid was dedicated to Marine Corps hero LTCOL C.K. 'Otis' Raible,who was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2012 when,armed with only a pistol,he led a quick response as the Taliban launched an incursion against Camp Bastion,blowing up Harrier AV-8B aircraft on the ground.Photos show that the F-35B launched on 27 September was armed with weapons including the GBU-32 JDAM;the GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb;and the GAU-22 gun pod.
It is not known how many F-35Bs went on the mission or how many of them delivered ordnance on the target.Perhaps only one delivered ordnance and others played an intel support roll,so this blog has used the singular to refer to the attacking aircraft.*
In late May,it was revealed that the Israeli F-35 Adir Joint Strike Fighter conducted the first two strikes ever made by any nation with the fifth generation aircraft.The targets were in the Middle East-quite possibly they were Iranian forces on the ground in Syria or elsewhere.*
On 25 September,Royal Air Force and Royal Navy pilots began developing the operational envelope of the F-35B on the UK's new HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier with the first takeoffs and landings on the deck of the advanced warship.This re-established British aircraft carrier aviation after an eight-year gap that began when their last AV-8B Harrier was retired from service.*
Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT)
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