Marines Receive First F-35C

[AMDR]

Marines Receive First F-35C
Marines Receive First F-35C - USNI News

The U.S. Marine Corps has taken delivery of its first carrier variant of the F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), according to a release from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

The fighter is the first of five planned Marine F-35Cs that will be assigned to the VFA-101 squadron – the training group for the carrier variant JSFs at Eglin.

“In the past, Marines have been trained to fly the Navy’s F-18 Hornet to share the load of deployment cycles,” said Marine Lt. Col J.T. Ryan in the statement.
“Now, Marine pilots will be flying the F-35C with the Navy’s Carrier Air Wings while deployed aboard aircraft carriers.”

The Marines had originally planned to use the F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) variant to meet the services requirement for the tactical air assets as part of the Navy’s carrier air wing. Currently, the Marines fly squadrons of the aging F/A-18C/D Hornet fighters on Navy carriers and AV-8B Harriers on the big deck amphibious warships.

The Marines JSF plans changed in 2011 when then commandant Gen. James Amos and Department of the Navy leadership signed an agreement for the Marines to buy 80 of the carrier variant JSFs for a planned five squadrons of 10 aircraft each.

 

[Hindustani78]

Obama's budget proposal includes F-35 simulators at Eielson

The F-35 undergoes climatic testing at the McKinley Climatic Lab at Eglin AFB, Fla. During lab tests, temperatures drop down to -40 degrees Fahrenheit.(Photo: Lockheed Martin)

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — President Obama's proposed budget includes a request for $37 million to build an F-35 flight simulator facility at Eielson Air Force Base.

The budget item would help prepare for arrival of 48 F-35A fighter jets at Eielson in 2020, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported.

Congress has final say on the budget. But U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski's office is optimistic about it.

"The fact that the administration is moving toward this means the Pentagon is moving toward this, and that's a positive," said Matthew Felling, a spokesman for the Alaska Republican. "Verbal commitments have a strong reassurance factor, but the bottom line is always the bottom line. A budget represents bottom-line discussions, and it's clear the military's long-term budget has Eielson on track for the F-35s."

The F-35 is meant to replace some military aircraft, including the Air Force's F-16 Fighter Falcons now stationed at Eielson.

In August, Eielson was named as the preferred site to host the first Pacific squadron of F-35s. The Pentagon, however, has not definitively confirmed that the planes will be based at Eielson.

The request in the budget proposal is for construction of a new facility at Eielson with six simulator bays, secure work areas and training classrooms. An existing structure would be altered and expanded for the operations.

The current average cost of the F-35 is about $150 million per plane, according to Lockheed Martin Corp.'s website. In 2014, the Department of Defense announced a plan that seeks to decrease the cost of each fighter jet to $85 million.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

[Cossack25A1]

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