VMFA-121 Green Knights 2017

[neptune]

http://www.marines.mil/News/News-Displa ... n-okinawa/

F-35B arrives Okinawa 2017

III MARINE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE -- MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP BUTLER, OKINAWA, Japan --  
Two F-35B Lightning II aircraft, belonging to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, Marine Aircraft Group 12, flew from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni to Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, Japan, June 26, to familiarize the VMFA-121 team with the airfield, marking the first arrival of the aircraft to Okinawa. 

The F-35B represents the future of Marine Corps tactical aviation and incorporates the mission capabilities of the current Marine Corps platforms it is replacing—the AV-8B Harrier, F/A-18 Hornet,—within a single airframe. 

As with current AV-8B and F/A-18 aircraft, the F-35B is planned to visit Kadena Air Base in Okinawa on a transient basis and operate in designated military airspace and ranges in a similar manner as the aircraft they are replacing. 

B-roll and still imagery of the refueling can be downloaded at the III Marine Expeditionary Force DVIDs webpage https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/III-MEF, the III MEF webpage http://www.iiimef.marines.mil/, and the III MEF Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/IIIMEF. 

[spazsinbad]

Also a earlier story here: viewtopic.php?f=57&t=53220&p=370585#p370585

[neptune]

http://www.marines.mil/News/News-Displa ... -aim-120s/

F-35B Hot Loads With AIM-120's

By Pfc. Ethan Pumphret,
Marine Corps Air Station Yuma


Hot-loading is when an aircraft lands and has ordnance loaded while the engine is still running. Marines from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 conducted a hot-load in F-35B Lightning II’s at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz. on Sept. 21, 2017. This hot-load was conducted using AMRAMM AIM-120 missiles. VMFA-121 is a part of Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. The exercise was a validation/verification conducted during Weapons and Tactics Instructors course 1-18. WTI is an exercise that takes service members from all over the world in a joint training exercise for mission readiness. WTI is hosted by Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron one. “They will now have a publication to use,” said Cpl. Matthew Donovan an aviation ordnance technician with VMFA-121. “We took it out there and we validated it. We know it works so now in the future they will have it in writing.”

The hot-load exercise was conducted to ensure both pilots and ground crew have a real example of operations should those units deploy. The F-35B’s were loaded with the AIM-120 missile and took off horizontally immediately after. The AMRAMM AIM-120 is an air-to-air missile that will be used in conjunction with a Tactical Air Launch Decoy. The TALD was loaded onto an AV-8B Harrier II to be launched and used as a target for the AIM-120. The TALD is an expendable glide vehicle that can mimic the heat and radar signatures of a full-sized aircraft. “You can't shoot an air-to-air missile unless you have something to shoot at,” said Donovan. “The TALD is just a glider that comes off of the Harrier and then it glides straight and the Harrier moves out of the way.”

Donovan said the AIM-120 is the only missile currently in the F-35’s arsenal for the Marine Corps. This hot-load exercise is to verify theory and validate publication and give the Marines involved a chance to load live ordnance while the aircraft is still hot. While the F-35B has been loaded hot before, this is the first time it has been conducted with these air-to-air missiles. “Decreasing aircraft turnaround time and increasing sortie generation due to the aircraft not having to power down, receive maintenance and start up again,” said Staff Sgt. Kevin Knight an Aviation Ordnance Technician with VMFA-121. “It’s critical in developing our expeditionary capabilities.” During WTI, VMFA-121 will also use GBU-12 and GBU-32, laser and GPS guided 500 lbs bombs in their F-35B’s. This combat themed-training will provide the training and practical application to project Marine Corps air power on the battlefield.

[spazsinbad]

Japan-Based Marines Conduct Nighttime Aerial Refueling Training
27 Oct 2017 Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan

"Marines based here conducted a nighttime aerial refueling exercise Oct. 25-26 to improve operational readiness and enhance pilot proficiency. Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 used their KC-130J Hercules aircraft to refuel F-35B Lightning II aircraft assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 and F/A-18C Hornets with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 251.

“Every 180 days the squadrons should have completed at least five successful movement-to-contact scenarios with tankers to stay proficient,” said Marine Corps Maj. Brian Miller, a KC-130 pilot and aircraft commander with VMGR-152. “This training exercises our systems, so that we know our aerial refueling pods, our refueling system and their air refueling systems are all working.”..."

PHOTO: http://alert5.com/2017/10/28/f-35bs-fa- ... -exercise/ "An F-35B Lightning II aircraft with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121 based out of Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni, Japan, conducts a nighttime aerial refueling training operation with a KC-130J Hercules with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron (VMGR) 152 based out of MCAS Iwakuni Oct. 25, 2017. The training was conducted at night to improve operational readiness and enhance pilot proficiency. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Mason Roy)" http://alert5.com/wp-content/uploads/20 ... 6-0341.jpg

Source: https://www.f35.com/news/detail/japan-b ... g-training

[spazsinbad]

Remaining F-35B Lightning II Aircraft with VMFA-121 Arrive at MCAS Iwakuni
15 Nov 2017 Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan

PHOTO: "A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II aircraft with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121 arrives at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni, Japan, Nov. 9, 2017. The remaining aircraft represent the last installment of F-35B Lightning IIs assigned to VMFA-121...." [WOW - INFORMATIVE - NOT!] https://a855196877272cb14560-2a4fa819a6 ... __main.jpg

Source: https://www.f35.com/news/detail/remaini ... as-iwakuni

[Corsair1963]

Honestly, time for a name change.....really "Green Knights"???

[SpudmanWP]

There is a long history of a "Green Knight"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Knight

[Corsair1963]

There is a long history of a "Green Knight"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Knight

Pretty deep of a Marine Fighter Squadron......

[SpudmanWP]

There are other "Green Knight" organizations:


http://greenknightsmmc.org/

[spazsinbad]

[steve2267]

Gear stayed down a long time during climbout. Compared to "typical" jet fighter takeoffs that I recall.

[spazsinbad]

Probably doing a lower powered (no afterburner just military 100% power) - after lift off then high climb angle at reduced power - take off to reduce noise pollution so as to not upset the natives? Usually gear up fast so as to not break the limit.

[spazsinbad]

Marine F-35 pilots preparing for first-ever hover landings aboard an amphibious ship
09 Feb 2018 Valerie Insinna

"SINGAPORE — When the Marine Corps’ first forward-deployed F-35 fighter squadron sets sail with the amphibious ship Wasp this year, it will be the first opportunity for many of the pilots to carry out the jet’s distinctive vertical landing aboard a ship. “There’s very few [pilots] that have actually landed onboard a ship,” Maj. Jesse Peppers, the assistant operations officer for Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, said on the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow on Thursday....

...“They will have simulated landings onboard a ship in the simulator and on the field, in stationary landing areas, but then they go out to the ship, it’s going to be the first time that they’ve actually landed onboard.” Peppers, a former Hornet pilot who has operated the F-35 since 2014 and flew one of the B model planes to Singapore for the show, won’t be one of the Marines from Japan headed to the Wasp this year. His first STOVL landing aboard an amphib will come during a later deployment, he said.

VMFA-121, located at Marine Air Station Iwakuni in Japan, is comprised of a mix of experienced pilots who transferred from other aircraft to brand new pilots for whom the F-35 will be the first plane they learn to fly. The squadron’s commanding officer is originally an F-35 test pilot who is one of the few Marines out there with practical experience doing the short takeoff and vertical landing while at sea. Some of the F-35 pilots selected to deploy aboard the Wasp also have experience doing STOVL operations with the AV-8B Harrier, Pepper said.

In the runup to the deployment, pilots will keep to a “standard training profile” with one exception: an increased focus on practicing taking off and landing on an amphibious assault ship using simulators or by doing “field carrier landing practices” where jets practice flying as they would have to fly while embarked. “It’s not like we’re just ragtag throwing everyone out there, unprepared. It is very structured,” he said. “Especially operations at Iwakuni with a site available to do a vertical landing, there’s no shortage of vertical landings happening at Iwakuni.”...

...“You kind of go through a couple different stages of grief the first time,” joked Peppers, who as a former Hornet pilot, had no prior STOVL experience before flying the F-35. “The first time, being a legacy pilot used to landing kind of conventionally, [I was] a little timid at first to press the STOVL button that takes you into what we call mode four and get you to that hover regime, but I think once you press it and have that lifechanging experience time after time, then you kind of get numb to it. … Now it is really administrative, it’s just another tool I have in my bag of tricks.”..."

Source: https://www.defensenews.com/digital-sho ... ious-ship/

[spazsinbad]

Historic First: F35B Lands on Wasp, Launching Era of Increased Navy-Marine Corps Sea-based Capabilities in Indo-Pacific
05 Mar 2018 Amphibious Force 7th Fleet Public Affairs

"EAST CHINA SEA -- A detachment of F-35B Lightning II's with Fighter Attack Squadron 121 (VMFA-121) arrived aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) March 5, marking the first time the aircraft has deployed aboard a U.S. Navy ship and with a Marine Expeditionary Unit in the Indo-Pacific....

...VMFA-121 Pilots are scheduled to conduct a series of qualification flights on Wasp over a multi-day period. Following qualifications, the F-35B’s and 2,300 Marines that make up the 31st MEU will deploy aboard ships of the Wasp Expeditionary Strike Group for follow-on operations in the Indo-Pacific region as part of a routine patrol to strengthen regional alliances, provide rapid-response capability, and advance the Up-Gunned ESG concept....

...The arrival of the F-35B culminates testing and shipboard structural modifications on Wasp that began in 2013. Wasp completed an overhaul in 2017 and subsequently departed Norfolk to forward-deploy to Sasebo, Japan as part of a Department of Defense effort to place the most advanced capabilities in the Indo-Pacific....

...Seventh Fleet, which celebrates its 75th year in 2018, spans more than 124 million square kilometers, stretching from the International Date Line to the India/Pakistan border; and from the Kuril Islands in the North to the Antarctic in the South. Seventh Fleet's area of operation encompasses 36 maritime countries and 50 percent of the world’s population with between 50-70 U.S. ships and submarines, 140 aircraft, and approximately 20,000 Sailors in the 7th Fleet."

Photo: "180305-N-VK310-0048 EAST CHINA SEA (Mar. 5, 2018) Chief Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Handling) John Jacob directs an F-35B Lightning II with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121 on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) after the F-35B touched down, marking the first time the aircraft has deployed aboard a U.S. Navy ship and with a Marine Expeditionary Unit in the Indo-Pacific. VFMFA-121, assigned under the Okinawa-based 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, will remain embarked aboard Wasp for a regional patrol meant to strengthen regional alliances, provide rapid-response capability, and advance the Up-Gunned ESG concept. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Michael Molina/Released) (Photo by MC3 Michael Molina)" https://media.defense.gov/2018/Mar/05/2 ... 0-0048.JPG (1Mb)

Source: http://www.c7f.navy.mil/Media/News/Disp ... hootsuite/

[SpudmanWP]

How many Bs on board?