Marines Archives - Page 3 of 238

3d Marine Littoral Regiment takes charge of NMESIS

Posted on November 28, 2024November 28, 2024 by alert5

The 3d Marine Littoral Regiment (3d MLR) has formally accepted the Navy/Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS). A ceremony was held on Nov. 26 at Marine Corps Base Hawaii to mark the occasion. NMESIS is a truck-mounted, ground-based anti-ship missile launcher. It provides the Marines with a significant boost in their ability to control access to coastal areas and deny the use of the seas to adversaries, a concept known as “sea denial”.

U.S. Marines with 3d Littoral Combat Team, 3d Marine Littoral Regiment, 3d Marine Division, participate in a ceremony on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Nov. 26, 2024. At the ceremony, 3d MLR officially received the Navy/Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System from Marine Corps Systems Command, becoming the first U.S. Marine Corps unit to field the system. The NMESIS provides 3d MLR with enhanced sea denial capabilities and maritime lethality. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jacqueline C. Parsons)

U.S. Marine Corps Reaper makes first flight at Cherry Point

Posted on November 22, 2024 by alert5

The U.S. Marine Corps marked a new era in its embrace of unmanned aviation on Nov. 21 when a General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper flew for the first time from Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point, North Carolina.

A U.S. Marine Corps MQ-9A Reaper unmanned aircraft system with Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Training Squadron (VMUT) 2 taxis at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, Nov. 21, 2024. VMUT-2 serves as the Marine Corps’ MQ-9A Reaper Fleet Replacement Squadron, whose primary mission is to train MQ-9 pilots and sensor operators in their respective military occupational specialties. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Chief Warrant Officer 2 Akeel Austin)

Black Knights strike first with F-35C

Posted on November 21, 2024November 21, 2024 by alert5

In a significant development for naval aviation, the F-35C Lightning II, the U.S. Navy’s latest carrier-borne fighter, has conducted its first combat strikes. This milestone marks the F-35C’s operational debut, showcasing its capabilities in a real-world conflict.

LEMOORE, California (June 5, 2019) The first Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314 “Black Knights” F-35C aircraft from Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore flown by CAPT Tommy Beau Locke from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 125 “Rough Raiders” flies in formation over the Sierra’s with the VFMA-314 squadron F/A-18A++, flown by LtCol Cedar Hinton aircraft “passing the lead” as part of the F/A-18 Sundown with the Black Knights. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Cmdr. Darin Russell/Released)

Curtain falls on Harrier at FRCE

Posted on October 29, 2024October 29, 2024 by alert5

“An aircraft which is deployed and based as simply as a helicopter, but which packs the punch of a conventional attack aircraft is going to have a far-reaching effect on military aviation,” Maj. Gen. Homer S. Hill of the U.S. Marine Corps told a Congressional committee in 1970. The AV-8B Harrier, a testament to this prediction, has received its final maintenance in the United States, marking the end of an era for this unique aircraft.

Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) celebrated its final AV-8B Harrier maintenance event with an informal celebration in the facility’s AV-8B hangar Sept. 20. FRCE delivered the completed aircraft to Marine Attack Squadron 223 onboard Marine Air Station Cherry Point Sept. 26.

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VMFA-533 receives F-35B Block 4 aircraft

Posted on October 13, 2024 by alert5

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 533, based at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Beaufort, has received its first F-35B Lightning II jet. This event marks a significant milestone as the squadron transitions from the F/A-18 Hornet to the F-35B, becoming the second operational F-35 squadron on the East Coast and the first at MCAS Beaufort.