2nd MAW receives more F-35B production aircraft

Courtesy Photo | F-35B Lightning II aircrafts four and five departed Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, Texas, for the 90-minute flight to 2nd MAW's Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501, which resides with the host 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin)  

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, NC, UNITED STATES

05.10.2012

Courtesy Story

II Marine Expeditionary Force   

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. - The fourth and fifth F-35B short takeoff vertical landing production aircraft were ferried from Lockheed Martin to 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing's F-35 training squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., today.

The aircraft, BF-9 and BF-10, departed Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, Texas, for the 90-minute flight to 2nd MAW's Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501, which resides with the host 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin. The aircraft arrived around 3 p.m. CDT. One more STOVL production jet, BF-11, is expected to be delivered in the coming days, bringing 2nd MAW's total to six F-35B aircraft.

The F-35B Lightning II is a multi-role, fifth-generation fighter slated to replace the Marine Corps' aging F/A-18 Hornet, AV-8B Harrier and EA-6B Prowler with one tactical, fixed-wing aircraft. The aircraft supports the Marine Corps' tactical and operational needs for close air support in austere conditions and locations that may be inaccessible to traditional fighters.

• Date Taken: 05.10.2012
• Date Posted: 05.11.2012 07:51
• Story ID: 88288
• Location: MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, NC, US