Alert 5

Aviation News

Category: Marines

F-35Bs cross-decked from HMS Queen Elizabeth to USS Essex

Posted on by alert5

F-35Bs from VMFA-211 cross-decked from HMS Queen Elizabeth to the amphibious assault ship USS Essex on Nov. 8 while both ships were in the Gulf of Oman.

GULF OF OMAN (Nov. 8, 2021) F-35B Lightning II attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211, deployed with the British Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, lands on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) during an interoperability exercise with Queen Elizabeth, Nov. 8. Essex and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit are deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and the Pacific through the western Indian Ocean and three strategic choke points. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Wesley Richardson)

Continue reading “F-35Bs cross-decked from HMS Queen Elizabeth to USS Essex”

62nd Airlift Wing practice deploying Marines from Japan to Wake Island during exercise Rainier War 21B

Posted on by alert5

C-17s assigned to the U.S. Air Force’s 62nd Airlift Wing practice deploying Marines of the III Marine Expeditionary Force from Japan to Wake Island on Nov. 5.


U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Rachel Williams
Continue reading “62nd Airlift Wing practice deploying Marines from Japan to Wake Island during exercise Rainier War 21B”

VMAT-203 sundown ceremony today

Posted on by alert5

VMAT-203 will hold a sundown ceremony at MCAS Cherry Point today. It is the only active unit to train pilots to fly the AV-8B for the U.S. Marine Corps.

U.S. Marine Corps 1st Lt. John P. Nichol, a student replacement pilot with Marine Assault Training Squadron 203 (VMAT-203), conducts a vertical landing with a TAV8-B Harrier Aircraft during Operation Angry Birds at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C., May 13, 2014. VMAT-203 conducted the operation to provide flight time to students becoming certified harrier pilots. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Austin A. Lewis/Released)

Continue reading “VMAT-203 sundown ceremony today”

MCAS Miramar will soon have a F-35B training squadron

Posted on by alert5

MCAS Miramar will soon have a squadron of F-35Bs to train pilots on how to fly the STOVL fighter.

A F-35B Lightning II with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 taxis down the runway at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, August 7. Two F-35s from the squadron landed to refuel before heading back to MCAS Yuma to complete their flight.

Photo by Sgt. Isaac Lamberth
Continue reading “MCAS Miramar will soon have a F-35B training squadron”