January 18

What happened on January 18 in aviation and space history.

• January 18, 2017

  The F-35B gains its first permanent overseas base: Iwakuni

  Milestone — The first F-35Bs of squadron VMFA-121 arrived at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, at about half past five in the afternoon local time, nine days after leaving Yuma. It was the Lightning II's first permanent posting outside the United States. The squadron reached sixteen aircraft that summer, when six more arrived.