The U.S. Navy’s first-in-class amphibious assault ship USS Wasp recently arrived in the Philippines for a major annual exercise carrying a U.S. Marine Corps contingent that includes at least 10 F-35B Joint Strike Fighters. This is a larger than average number of the combat jets than Wasp-class ships normally embark, but is a force structure that the Navy and Marines are looking to standardize. It’s also one that could help lay the groundwork for a future operating concept that could turn amphibious assault ships into light carriers, as necessary.
Wasp entered the Philippine port of Subic Bay on Mar. 30, 2019, ahead of the beginning of Exercise Balikatan 2019. The ship is carrying Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Four (SPMAGTF 4), with the 4th Marine Regiment as the lead unit.
This deployment is already notable since it is the first time F-35Bs, in any quantity, will take part in these drills. But it also appears to be one of the first times, if not the first time, a Marine task force has embarked aboard an amphibious assault ship with an air combat element, or ACE, in this particular F-35 heavy configuration.
Much more at the link.
Well if they have just ten of the damned things there's a 9% chance one of them is still capable of flight according to the latest readiness reporting on F-35s.
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