F-35B Lightning II fighters during flight testing on the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales

The HMS Prince of Wales is currently visiting the US,where Marine Corps pilots practised joint operations with the Royal Navy.

Pacific Perspective:1st MARDIV Certifies for Australia Deployment

Marines and Sailors of 1st Marine Division and Expeditionary Strike Group 3 recently concluded Exercise Steel Knight 23.It certified the participants for deployment with the upcoming Marine Rotational Force-Darwin (MRF-D) in Australia's Northern Territory as I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF).Thousands of Marines and Sailors enhanced naval integration,joint planning and expeditionary advanced base operations.The drills took place in two phases:a command post exercise (CPX) and a mission rehearsal exercise (MRX).In the CRX,each subordinate command was tested to collect intelligence on enemy forces;coordinate joint fires;and simulate strikes while sustaining the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) with supplies across dispersed locations.CPX also enabled all-domain operations including cyber,space and information operations to complement kinetic operations in the operational environment.* MRX involved manoeuvring warships,Marine aviation squadrons and staging amphibious landings.Marines and Sailors responded to simulated crises and contingency scenarios in a contested environment.Said USN Rear Admiral James Kirk,commander,Expeditionary Strike Group 3:Simulated combat operations are ongoing to execute sea denial operations so that the joint force can then control and have freedom of movement,and can manoeuvre in a combat scenario to refine operational capabilities and tactics,techniques and procedures (TTPs).* Marines and Sailors also rehearsed the EABO (Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations),meaning employing forces in isolated environments and contested maritime areas.They tested their ability to plan,communicate and operate on small island chains;sea lanes;and aboard ships scattered across vast areas while still synchronised with one another.This took place across multiple locales in Southern and Central California.It's about working together to gain an advantage over a very challenging adversary (such as China,Russia or North Korea) while outpacing an enemy and achieving sea control,according to USMC Major General Benjamin Watson,commanding general of 1st MARDIV,I MEF and Rear Admiral Kirk.* In the course of the exercise,America-class Amphibious Assault Ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7) played a significant role,as did Marine Aircraft Group 3,3rd Marine Aircraft Wing,which conducted an air assault on San Clemente island,California.A US Navy landing craft air cushion with Assault Craft Unit 5 carried an AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar.* The Tripoli allows the operation of both the MV-22 Osprey and F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.The warship is armed with 2 Rolling Airframe Missile launchers;2 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile launchers;2x20mm Phalanx CIWS mounts;and 7 x twin .50 BMG machine guns.It also carries electronic warfare devices such as 2 Mk53 Nulka decoy launchers.The Tripoli's complement is 102 officers;1102 enlisted;and 1687 Marines (plus 184 surge).It is the second America-class AAS,commissioned in July 2020.Its homeport is San Diego.*

RAF Coningsby Live Action | NATO Exercise SteadFast Noon 2022 - 19 October 2022

Lockheed Martin Receives Contract for $7.6 Billion for 129 Total F-35s in Lot 15 - Aviation Today

Lockheed Martin Receives Contract for $7.6 Billion for 129 Total F-35s in Lot 15 - Aviation Today: Lockheed Martin has received a more than $7.6 billion contract for 129 F-35 fighters in Lot 15–49 F-35As for the U.S. Air Force.

Korea:As War Becomes More Likely,Large Airpower Drill Gains Importance - plus which other nations are committed to help defend South Korea

In a swirl of rhetorical skirmishing between the US and North Korea,US-South Korea Airpower Exercise Vigilant Ace 18-1 began on 4 December 2017 and concludes on 8 December.About 12,000 US personnel and Republic of Korea Airmen are taking part in a realistic air combat drill with 230 aircraft stationed at eight bases,US Pacific Air Forces said.There will be a decided emphasis on US fifth generation fighters,with 12 US Marine Corps F-35B and six US Air Force F-35A aircraft joined by US Air Force F-22 Raptors.In addition,the stalwart F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-15 Eagle will assist;as well as US Navy and Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet/Super Hornet fighters;US Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack jets;E/A-18 Growler electronic attack jets;B-1B Lancer bombers;C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft;and ROK F-15K Slam Eagle and F-4 Phantom II fighters as well.*
According to a release from 51st Fighter Wing Commander Colonel William Betts,Osan Air Base,ROK:
My biggest expectation for the Wing is to remove any 'exercise' mindset from the equation and maximize the realism of every response.We will ensure we have no regrets if we find ourselves executing contingency operations.
In the event we need to help defend our 5.1 million Korean allies,I need to be sure the 51st Fighter Wing is synchronized with the Combined Joint-Force.Vigilant Ace is a chance for us to do just that;focus on getting smarter,faster and more capable than we were yesterday while we generate combat airpower and strengthen the alliance.*
Korean locations involved in the drills are:Kunsan,Osan,Jungwan,Gwangju,Wonju,Daegu,Seosan and Cheongju.At these bases,the USAF,US Marine Corps and US Navy will be testing their warfighting skills with the ROK Air Force,focused on the full-spectrum deterrence of,or,if necessary,actual defeating of,the rapidly evolving threats from the North.Units from across US Pacific Command are embedding at these bases to augment their combat forces and ensure VA 18-1 is as true to life as possible,enhancing operational and tactical level coordination,while integrating and practicing combat operations against realistic air and ground threats.The drills will ensure the capability to deter aggression,preserve the armistice,defend the ROK and defeat any attack against the alliance.
North Korea calls VA 18-1:
a ceaseless large-scale war game,creating a situation that a nuclear war could break out at any moment.*
To the mind of US National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster,the risk of war from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un:
I think it's increasing every day,which means we are in a race to be able to solve this problem.Every time he conducts a missile launch,a nuclear test,he gets better.He's getting closer and closer,and there's not much time left.*
In the event of war,besides the US and ROK,15 other nations committed to help defend the ROK when the 1953 armistice was signed.Several of them sent contingents to annual wargames on the Korean Peninsula in 2017,including:
Australia,Canada,Columbia,Denmark,France,New Zealand,the Netherlands and the UK.The USAF 7th Air Force says:
This effort will require coordinated and integrated Airpower in a congested and contested battlespace.

UK Defence Minister Sets Forth British Posture in Europe,the Middle East and Southwest Asia - extremely watchful

On 31 March,British Minister of Defence Sir Michael Fallon enumerated British military activities in Europe,the Middle East and Southwest Asia at a joint press conference with US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis following their London talks:
From Afghanistan to South Sudan,our men and women are working together with our friends and allies to defend the international rules-based system,and we have no closer friend than the United States.We began today by reviewing our efforts to combat international terrorism and global extremism.In Iraq and Syria,we stand shoulder to shoulder as leading members of the counter-Daesh coalition.Today,Daesh - aka ISIL - is failing.In Iraq,Daesh is clinging to its last stronghold,though 40% of West Mosul has been liberated and hundreds of thousands are returning to their homes.*
Meanwhile,our two nations are providing reassurance to our European allies in the wake of Russian aggression.We are leading NATO's enhanced forward presence.By next week,Britain will have 800 troops in Estonia,and 150 personnel in a reconnaissance squadron serving alongside US forces in Poland.In May,we will send four RAF Typhoons to Romania as part of NATO's mission to protect the Black Sea skies.This I part of the biggest deployment in Eastern Europe since the end of the Cold War.*
The second item on our agenda was about making the NATO Alliance fitter and faster.Fairer burden-sharing is the key here.Only five members have met the two percent target,the US and the UK among them.Our defence budget in Britain is growing every year and remains the biggest in Europe;but Secretary Mattis and I have agreed that others must now raise their game;and those failing to meet their two percent commitment so far should at least agree to year-on-year real term increases.
At the end of this year,we will own 14 F-35 aircraft,and I welcome the commitment by the US to deploy F-35Bs on the HMS Elizabeth on its first operational deployment in 2021.*
On the issue of Russia having perhaps violated the Intermediate Nuclear Forces treaty with the United States,that is something that we think needs to be taken forward,not just by the US,but by NATO generally,once we have those violations confirmed.
There's a pattern now of interference by Russia in different parts of the globe that needs us to be,when we engage with Russia,wary of what Russia is up to,and that is why there cannot be,at the moment,any return to business as usual with Russia.We need to be extremely watchful now of this persistent pattern of Russian interference.*
We're not sending combat troops back to Afghanistan.We last year increased our troops in Afghanistan and we continue to wait for advice on the continuance of Resolute Support for 2018.As you know,we are helping staff the Officer's Academy;we assist on counterterrorism;and we are engaged in supplying the bulk of the Kabul Protection Force;but we're not planning to return back to combat in Afghanistan,UK Minister of Defence Sir Michael Fallon told journalists gathered in London for his meeting with US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis.*
In the Middle East,the UK participates in the air campaign of Operation Inherent Resolve both in Iraq and Syria,as well as train,advise and assist efforts in Iraq and also Afghanistan in Southwest Asia.
Britain is as well moving to modernise its nuclear deterrent with the plan to build four new Trident II D5 ballistic missile submarines,and is building a large aircraft carrier,HMS Queen Elizabeth.

US Marines To Be First In with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter - possible combat mission in the Middle East

The US Marine Corps is first to fight,according to their tradition.In the case of the F-35B Lightning II Joint Strik Fighter,they may well be first to fly the new aircraft in the Middle Eastern theatre of operations as well,according to Lieutenant General Robert Walsh,commander of US Marine Corps Combat Development Command and Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration.Speaking with reporters at a breakfast on 30 August 2016,LTGEN Walsh said that:
The Marine Corps has been out in fron with the F-35B.We're the first ones that are going to be deploying it.We are going to be deploying it on the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD-1).The interesting thing is,not only are we deploying it on the Wasp (in support of Asia-Pacific exercises);we're also going to deploy it on the USS Essex (LHD-2) during the same year in US CENTCOM (including the Middle East).So not only are we going to do one;we are going to do two.So that's quite the challenge,to get two squadrons aboard two ships and deploy them.*
Sixteen F-35Bs will be stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakumi,Japan.Then six of these will join the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and link up with Third Battalion,Fifth Marines,a regiment that is to be the experimental force of the US Marine Corps for two years.About eight months later,a Southern California MEU will deploy with F-35Bs on the USS Essex under CENTCOM.*
A lot of it's going to be the school of hard knocks.It's probably not the way we would have wanted it,but we want to exploit the fifth generation.That's what I think it is as we look at this airplane.We've been after this for a long time.We're replacing our F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets;our AV-8B Harriers;and our EA-6 Prowlers with that airplane,LTGEN Walsh noted.*
The second squadron of F-35Bs being stood up at Iwakumi makes the deployment into combat possible,Marine Corps Commandant General Robert Neller told the School of Strategic and International Studies in Washington in early August.The long delay in delivery of the F-35 has resulted in a shortfall of aviation readiness as the Corps scraped by,keeping the older aircraft flying longer than had been anticipated,GEN Neller explained.*
The US Marines will not only be leading the US military in deploying the F-35,but the Royal Navy as well.When the new British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth makes its initial deployment in 2021,guess who will be flying their F-35Bs off of it?It may be that the RN will not be ready to fully shoulder the responsibility at that time,so they invited the US Marines to deploy with them.

Marine Corps Aviation:F-35B Squadron Goes Operational

On 31 July,the US Marine Corps declared initial operational capability for the first squadron of Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II aircraft.Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition,Technology and Logistics Frank Kendall hailed the event as a significant milestone in the continued evolution of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.The decision was made following a thorough operational readiness inspection,which assessed the Marine Corps' ability to employ this complex weapon system in an operational environment.This accomplishment is an affirmation that the F-35 program is on track to deliver essential 5th generation warfighting capabilities to our US services and international partners,Mr.Kendall said.*
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121,VMFA-121,is based in Yuma,Arizona.It has 10 F-35Bs in the Block 2B configuration with the requisite performance envelope and weapon clearances,to include the training,sustainment capabilities and infrastructure to deploy to an austere site or a ship,Marine Corps Commandant General Joseph Dunford said.It is capable of conducting close air support,offensive and defensive counter-air,air interdiction,assault support escort and armed reconnaissance as part of a Marine air-ground task force or in support of the joint force.
The F-35B conducted flight operations for 7 weeks at sea aboard an L-class carrier;participated in multiple large force exercises;and executed a recent operational evaluation which included multiple live ordnance sorties,GEN Dunford certified.*
The F-35B will replace the AV-8B Harrier,F/A-18 Hornet and EA-6B Prowler.More than 50 F-35B pilots have been trained and qualified,and about 500 maintenance personnel have been certified to assume autonomous,organic-level maintenance support for the aircraft,the USMC said in a press release.*
The British Royal Navy is also acquiring the F-35B for its new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth,and RN pilots and maintenance crews have been training alongside US Navy and Marine Corps personnel.*
GEN Dunford has been confirmed by the US Senate as the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.*
Lockheed Martin (LMT)

Marine Corps F-35B Aces Night Landing

On 12 August,the F-35 Integrated Test Force from NAS Patuxent River,Maryland embarked with two F-35B Joint Strike Fighters on the USS Wasp(LHD-1)for Development Test Phase Two,or DT-II.The US Marine Corps characterises the 18 day test as a key milestone on the path to F-35B initial operating capability,or IOC.The short takeoff-vertical landing aircraft successfully completed eight night landings last Wednesday,piloted by Marine Lt.Colonel C.R."Jimi" Clift,who said the landings went extremely well.This puts the aircraft on course for IOC in 2015,the Marine Corps said.*Besides the dramatic night landings,DT-II consists of expanding the wind envelope for launch and recovery,as well as evaluating mission systems;aircraft operations on a moving flight deck;and shipboard sustainment of the F-35B.*DT-II is the second of three planned shipboard tests of the advanced warplane.An onsite engine removal was also performed in record time to ensure the aircraft's readiness for deployment.When DT-II has been completed,the US Navy and Marine Corps should have enough data to support certification for future shipboard operations,the Marine Corps noted.*The Wasp,an amphibious assault ship which carries a mix of helicopters and STOVL aircraft,had been modified with a composite deck coating for additional heat protection,and installation of equipment to monitor environmmental effects and collect data during the test,as well as relocation of lights and sensors to better accomodate F-35B shipboard landings.*The F-35B is the planned successor to the AV-8B II Harrier,currently the backbone of Marine Corps combat air power.Its development has been a long and costly process,but the successful test should garner more support for continuing the program.