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F-35B Lightning II sets sail aboard USS Wasp on first every operational deployment
Jamie Seidel, News Corp Australia Network
March 6, 2018 12:02pm

WILL the F-35 stealth fighter live up to its trillion-dollar potential?
It’s just been put to sea for the first time on an operational mission aboard the US Marine amphibious assault carrier USS Wasp.
It’s carrying the F-35B variant.
It’s a true test of the fighter’s ‘jack of all trades’ mandate.
This is the aircraft many blame for making the whole project so incredibly difficult, and expensive.
It’s a jump jet.



U.S. Navy

✔@USNavy

Milestone for #NavyTheNationNeeds with a historic first: #F35B lands on #USSWasp, launching era of increased #USNavy-@USMC sea-based capabilities in Indo--Asian-Pacific - http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=10459&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_content=100000167445170&utm_campaign=FoF …


Yet it’s supposed to share a high degree of commonality with the US Air Force and US Navy’s fighter versions.
As the USS Wasp makes its way through the Pacific during the next few months, the Pentagon will get to find out if they’ve got their money’s worth.
And so will China and North Korea.

Deck crew prepare to secure a F-35B stealth 'jump jet' as it approaches the USS Wasp yesterday. Picture: US Marine Corp
READY FOR TAKE-OFF

The USS Wasp received a detachment of F-35B Lightning II’s from the VMFA-121 Fighter Attack Squadron yesterday.
It marks the beginning of the new era.
No longer with the iconic Harrier feature on her decks, after more than 40 years of service.
And while the F-35B shares some of its short-take-off and vertical landing characteristics, it comes with the added bonus of stealth — and a whole new suite of sensors.
Some of them. Not all of its advertised functions are yet operational.
But it’s still a big leap forward.
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“Pairing F-35B Lightning II’s with the Wasp represents one of the most significant leaps in warfighting capability for the Navy-Marine Corps team in our lifetime,” says the proud new owner of the advanced aircraft, Rear Admiral Brad Cooper, commander, Expeditionary Strike Group 7. “This 5th generation stealth jet is extremely versatile and will greatly enhance and expand our operational capabilities.”



AmphibForce7thFleet@Amphib7FLT

Welcome to a New Era: F-35Bs have landed on @USSWaspLHD1 marking a first in @USNavy-@USMC history!


It’s taken a while to get this far.
The F-35B ended up being much more difficult to operate from aircraft carriers than expected. USS Wasp underwent modifications in 2013 to enable the ship to carry the aircraft. The brand-new USS America had to be partially rebuilt because the fighter’s exhaust proved much hotter and violent than advertised.
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But now the USS Wasp, part of the US Navy’s forward deployed force in Japan since it returned to service in January, boasts it has the most advanced assault capabilities in the Asia-Pacific.
But it’s one of only a handful of such ships retrofitted with the necessary deck hardening and support equipment for the F-35.

An F-35B Lightning II takes off from the flight deck of USS America (LHA 6) during earlier testing of the type in 2016. Picture: US Marine Corp
TROUBLED WATERS

The deployment comes amid heightened tensions in the East and South China seas, with Beijing continuing with its arbitrary occupation of reefs and shoals in violation of international court rulings.
“This is a historic deployment,” says Colonel Tye Wallace, 31st MEU Commanding Officer. “The F-35B is the most capable aircraft ever to support a Marine rifleman on the ground. It brings a range of new capabilities to the MEU that make us a more lethal and effective Marine Air-Ground Task Force.”
He’s referring to an intense fight in Washington over the F-35’s ability to replace the much-loved A-10 “Tank Killer” in the front line, supporting troops up close during intense ground battles.
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The Pentagon’s gone so far as to stage an A-10 and F-35 “showdown” to prove the new jet is just as capable — if nor more so — than the old.
“Deployment of the versatile F-35B enhances the full range of expeditionary strike group capabilities with one of the world’s most technologically-advanced air warfare platforms,” says Captain Colby Howard, USS WASP’s commanding officer, in an official navy release.

The F-35B’s pilots are set for a gruelling shakedown process over the coming days.
They have to get a feel for the aircraft, its quirks, and the challenges of landing and taking off from a small deck at sea.
Once WASP’s pilots are judged to be up to scratch, they will be sent into the Asia-Pacific area as part of the “upgunned” 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.
It’s “up-gunned” through the presence of two more guided missile destroyers than normal — the USS Dewey and USS Sterett. These will concentrate extra offensive and defensive weaponry around the highly valuable — and vulnerable — USS Wasp.
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It’s a test of a new Expeditionary Strike Group concept the US navy has come up with, combining the stealth ability of the F-35, the firepower of additional warships, and the beachhead establishing abilities of up to 1000 Marine soldiers.

An F-35B Lightning II stealth 'jump jet' taxiis into position on the deck of USS Wasp yesterday. Picture: US Marine Corp
“Surface ships like Dewey and Sterett enhance an amphibious force’s ability to conduct its primary mission of ship-to-shore movement in the littorals, particularly in a contested environment,” the navy statement reads.
Put simply, the extra ships will help protect the Marine troop transport when passing close to potentially hostile territory.