On March 5 an F-35B from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron VMFA-121 “Green Knights” landed on the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp. This was the start of the F-35’s first operational deployment with a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). The VMFA-121 detachment is assigned to the 31st MEU that is forward-based in Okinawa, while the squadron’s home base is at MCAS Iwakuni in Japan.

“This is a historic deployment,” said 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.”

Following their arrival aboard Wasp, the F-35Bs are undertaking a series of qualification flights before the the bulk of the 31st MEU deploys aboard the vessels of the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, also designated Amphibious Squadron 11. The group will depart on Spring Patrol 2018, a regular patrol of the Indo-Pacific region.

The cruise will evaluate the “up-gunned expeditionary strike group” (ESG) concept, which aims to provide additional firepower to the traditional three-ship amphibious ready group by adding additional surface vessels and the F-35B. This concept has been pioneered by the U.S. Pacific Fleet and serves to increase survivability and lethality in tense regions such as around Korea.

Wasp itself—home-ported in Sasebo, Japan—emerged from a major refit last November. Other vessels joining the “up-gunned ESG” are the guided-missile destroyers USS Dewey and USS Sterett, both of which embark Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawks from HSM-35 “Magicians” and HSM-49 “Scorpions,” respectively.

In the meantime, both the UK and Italy are progressing toward deployment of the F-35B at sea. The RAF’s No. 207 Squadron acts as the operational conversion unit for both Royal Air Force and Royal Navy F-35 pilots, and training continues at MCAS Beaufort in the U.S. before the unit’s move to RAF Marham in the UK this summer. The last of 14 F-35Bs for the carrier-borne Lightning fleet was delivered last December.

Having been rolled out last May, Italy’s first F-35B was delivered to the Italian navy on January 25 at the final assembly and check-out (FACO) facility at Cameri. Operated by Lockheed Martin and Leonardo, the Cameri FACO is the only non-U.S. facility involved in final assembly of the F-35B STOVL version, but it also assembles F-35As and builds wing sections. A few days after being handed over, the F-35B was deployed across the Atlantic via Lajes in the Azores to NAS Patuxent River for electromagnetic compatibility testing, before moving on to MCAS Beaufort for pilot training.

Fifteen F-35Bs have been procured by the Marina Militare Italiana to replace the AV-8B+ Harrier II aboard the carrier Cavour, while 15 more F-35Bs are scheduled to join the 60 F-35As required by the Italian air force.