A press release by the U.S. Marine Corps says the F-35B detachment with VMX-1 next assignment is to test how the jet will integrate with the Navy’s Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air (NIFC-CA) sensor network.
By U.S. Air Force photo by Samuel King [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Current NIFC-CA concept relies on the E-2D to provide targeting information to other platforms that will fire the weapon against aerial threats. The service is keen on integrating the F-35 into the environment so that it can supplement the limited number of E-2Ds as sensor platforms.