First operational shipboard deployment of the F-35B, aboard USS Wasp

F-35Bs of squadron VMFA-121 settled onto the deck of USS Wasp, modified to withstand the new fighter's vertical exhaust, and began the type's first operational shipboard deployment with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit in the Indo-Pacific. Unlike the 2011 sea trials, this time the aircraft embarked as part of a force on mission. The ship operated in waters off Okinawa and the Philippines.