Marine fighter pilots rehearse missions with the F-35B Lightning II

Marine fighter pilots rehearsed combat air patrol missions with the F-35B Lightning II jets in the Pacific Ocean in August.

The jets were launched from the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp carrying and employing a live AIM-9X Sidewinder missile. The exercise was conducted by the Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU).

It was the first F-35B live-fire of the AIM-9X missile in the Indo-Pacific region while conducting blue-water flight operations. The air-to-air missile drill validated weapons assembly and loading procedures on the flight deck of the ship. It also showcased the F-35B’s flexibility to offensively engage airborne targets.

“The 31st MEU regularly conducts F-35B Combat Air Patrol rehearsals and is fully prepared to maintain aerial dominance against any threat,” Col. Robert Brodie, 31st MEU commanding officer, said. “Our successful live-fire employment of the AIM-9X further exemplifies our preparedness to ‘fight and win’ against any adversary in any arena.”

Regarding the F-35 Lightning II, BAE Systems was awarded a contract from Lockheed Martin to enhance the offensive and defensive electronic warfare (EW) capabilities of the fighter aircraft. BAE Systems will modernize its AN/ASQ-239 Electronic Warfare/Countermeasures (EW/CM) system to address emerging threats and maintain U.S. and allied warfighters’ ability to safely conduct missions in contested airspace.

“The F-35 will be in service for decades, and we’re committed to providing our pilots with an AN/ASQ-239 capability that affords a decisive and sustained EW operational advantage,” Deborah Norton, VP of F-35 Solutions at BAE Systems, said. “Our robust, modular architecture enables us to efficiently insert new capabilities, supporting the next wave of technical innovation while proactively addressing total product lifecycle sustainability.”

BAE Systems has been a supplier for the F-35 program for the past 14 years, successfully designing and developing the Block 1, Block 2, and Block 3 configurations. This new Block 4 program is a multi-year, multi-contract design and development effort that will add eleven new capabilities to the EW system. BAE Systems has delivered more than 500 F-35 AN/ASQ-239 EW/CM shipsets to date.