F-35B Lightning II arrives in Okinawa

Photo By Staff Sgt. Charles Plouffe | A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II aircraft with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, conducted a training flight from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni to Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, Japan, June 26, 2017. The Marines with VMFA- 121 worked alongside Airmen with the 18th Wing. This event marked the first time an F-35B Lightning II landed in Okinawa.  

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP BUTLER, OKINAWA, JAPAN

06.26.2017

Story by Sgt. Laura Gauna 

III Marine Expeditionary Force   

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP BUTLER, OKINAWA, Japan --
Two F-35B Lightning II aircraft, belonging to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, Marine Aircraft Group 12, flew from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni to Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, Japan, June 26, to familiarize the VMFA-121 team with the airfield, marking the first arrival of the aircraft to Okinawa.

The F-35B represents the future of Marine Corps tactical aviation and incorporates the mission capabilities of the current Marine Corps platforms it is replacing—the AV-8B Harrier, F/A-18 Hornet,—within a single airframe.

As with current AV-8B and F/A-18 aircraft, the F-35B is planned to visit Kadena Air Base in Okinawa on a transient basis and operate in designated military airspace and ranges in a similar manner as the aircraft they are replacing.

B-roll and still imagery of the refueling can be downloaded at the III Marine Expeditionary Force DVIDs webpage https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/III-MEF, the III MEF webpage http://www.iiimef.marines.mil/, and the III MEF Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/IIIMEF.

Media may contact the III Marine Expeditionary Force public affairs office at the provided contact information.

• Date Taken: 06.26.2017
• Date Posted: 06.27.2017 04:14
• Story ID: 239271
• Location: MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP BUTLER, OKINAWA, JP