First F-35B Fighter Jets Arrive in Japan: The first Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters have arrived in Japan, beginning the type’s first permanent overseas basing assignment with the US Marine Corps.
According to the III Marine Expeditionary Force, F-35Bs from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121 “Green Knights” arrived at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni, Japan, at approximately 5:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday.
These are the first of what will eventually be 16 VMFA-121 F-35Bs to be based at Iwakuni, with 10 aircraft scheduled to arrive this month and another six to arrive over the summer. Defense News reported earlier that the F-35Bs had left MCAS Yuma, Arizona, to cross the Pacific on Jan. 9.
