F-35C Lightning II fifth-generation fighter jets fly more than 12,000km to Australia for the first time in US military history

The US Marine Corps has sent a group of fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II fighter jets to Australia. This is the first such event in the history of the US Armed Forces.

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Four aircraft from Fighter Attack Squadron 314 flew more than 12,000km over the Pacific Ocean from California to Australia. They made four landings during the flight. The entire route took five days.

F-35A Lightning II fighters of the Royal Australian Air Force have previously flown in the US. But the flight to Australia by American fighters was the first in the history of the US armed forces. Major Natalie Batcheler, a Marine Corps spokeswoman, made the announcement.

The Marine Corps' 314th Fighter Strike Squadron, known as the Black Knights, took delivery of its first F-35C aircraft in January 2020. The fifth-generation deck fighters replace the outdated F/A-18 Hornet. Two years later, the aircraft were deployed on the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. Incidentally, a fire broke out on the ship recently.

The service's main air platform is F-35B fighters. Their short take-off and vertical landing capabilities make them highly manoeuvrable to operate from landing ships that often carry Marines.

Source: Marine Corps Times