{"id":286153,"date":"2024-09-17T23:29:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-17T23:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=286153"},"modified":"2024-09-23T16:33:10","modified_gmt":"2024-09-23T16:33:10","slug":"vmfa-251-receives-first-f-35-the-first-east-coast-based-marine-corps-f-35c-to-arrive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=286153","title":{"rendered":"VMFA-251 receives first F-35, the first East Coast-based Marine Corps F-35C to arrive"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
\n
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C — <\/span><\/p>\n

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 251, Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 14, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW), received its first F-35C Lightning II jet today aboard Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point, North Carolina. \u00a0
\u00a0
VMFA-251 is the Marine Corps\u2019 first East Coast operational F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter squadron. The arrival of the aircraft marks the beginning of F-35C deliveries to MCAS Cherry Point, continuing 2nd MAW\u2019s operational transition from legacy fixed-wing tactical aircraft to the F-35.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0“Today\u2019s arrival of our first carrier-based, fifth-generation fighter-attack aircraft represents an enormous milestone for MAG-14, MCAS Cherry Point, 2nd MAW, and the F-35 community” Col. Benjamin Grant, MAG-14 commanding officer<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The F-35 is a fifth-generation fighter jet with advanced stealth, agility and maneuverability, sensor and information fusion, and provides the pilot with real-time access to battlespace information. It is designed to meet an advanced threat, while improving lethality, survivability, and supportability.\u202fThe F-35C is designed to operate from conventional aircraft carriers or land bases and provides operational maneuverability and persistence to the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF). Superior internal fuel capacity results in a significantly increased combat radius and longer on-station times as compared to the F-35B, the F-35\u2019s short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) variant.\u00a0
\u00a0
\u201cToday\u2019s arrival of our first carrier-based, fifth-generation fighter-attack aircraft represents an enormous milestone for MAG-14, MCAS Cherry Point, 2nd MAW, and the F-35 community,\u201d said Col. Benjamin Grant, commanding officer, MAG-14. \u201cThe one-two punch provided by the F-35C\u2019s increased range and the F-35B\u2019s STOVL capability will give MAG-14 and the MAGTF a significant advantage in the future fight. I\u2019m proud of the team of Marines and Sailors at MAG-14 and VMFA-251 for their professionalism and dedication, and grateful for our partners in the Marine Corps and the joint force that made today\u2019s event possible.\u201d\u00a0
\u00a0
VMFA-251, known as the \u201cThunderbolts\u201d or \u201cT-Bolts,\u201d deactivated during a ceremony on April 23, 2020, aboard MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina, after returning from a deployment in 2020 in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. The Thunderbolts\u2019 deactivation concluded its 34 years as a F\/A-18 Hornet squadron. The squadron was relocated to MCAS Cherry Point to begin its F-35 transition and is currently going through the process of official reactivation and working towards receiving its Safe for Flight certification.\u00a0
\u00a0
\u201cThe F-35C Lightning II brings tremendous combat power to 2nd MAW, MAG-14, and MCAS Cherry Point. \u00a0It\u2019s incredible range, firepower, sensors, and survivability, coupled with the fact that it is truly a Joint aircraft, makes it a lethal asset for Marine aviation,\u201d said Lt. Col. Evan Shockley, commanding officer, VMFA-251, and the aircraft\u2019s pilot to MCAS Cherry Point. \u201cThe T-Bolts of VMFA-251 are excited to accept these aircraft, reactivate the squadron in the coming months, and carry their legacy forward.\u201d\u00a0
\u00a0
VMFA-251 is a subordinate unit of 2nd MAW, the aviation combat element of II Marine Expeditionary Force.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C — Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 251, Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 14, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW), received its first F-35C Lightning II jet today aboard Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point, North Carolina. \u00a0\u00a0VMFA-251 is the Marine Corps\u2019 first East Coast operational F-35C Lightning II Joint […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":286155,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-286153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=286153"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":286156,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286153\/revisions\/286156"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/286155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=286153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=286153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=286153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}