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Marines Folding F-35B into New Pacific Island-Hopping Concept
23 Apr 2019 Megan Eckstein
"ARLINGTON, Va. – The Marine Corps is learning how to incorporate its new F-35B Joint Strike Fighter jets into its island-hopping concept of Expeditionary Advance Base Operations, with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit rehearsing this concept recently in the Pacific.
The Japan-based MEU was the first to operate with the new F-35B, though its experience with the jet has been quite different than that of the 13th MEU and Essex Amphibious Ready Group, which were the first to deploy with the F-35B from the United States and the first to conduct an operational air strike with the Joint Strike Fighter.
The 31st MEU, unique in being the only forward-deployed amphibious group, has been focused on integrating the new jet into its crisis-response and self-defense missions and showing off the new plane to Pacific allies and partners, MEU Commanding Officer Col. Robert Brodie said today at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. If a conflict were to emerge in the Pacific, 31st MEU would likely be among the first on the scene and would likely use its island-seizing EABO concept – so, figuring out how to conduct this mission with the new airplane was the focus of a recent exercise on a small Japanese island, Brodie said.
On Ie Shima, off Okinawa, 31st MEU conducted a standard raid and seizure: a recon team jumped in to pave the way for a raid force being flown in to seize the island. Once the island was secured, CH-53E heavy-lift helicopters flew in fuel bladders and ordnance to conduct a forward arming and refueling point (FARP) operation with the F-35Bs.
“We were actually able to set up a refueling point, and our 53s were taking the gas from a bladder and filling up F-35s, and then the F-35s were going and flying missions,” Brodie said. “That’s kind of the concept we rehearsed there. And the key to this is speed: we did not rush through it because we wanted to be very deliberate and we’re in a learning phase, but I think you could do these types of things relatively quickly if you had the right ground.”
Brodie said the Marines could do this type of operation with either the CH-53E or the MV-22B Osprey, but the MEU has found the helicopter works best….
...The Marines lease the western side of Ie Shima Training Facility and have built in a replica amphibious assault ship deck – which is separate from the runway where the FARP mission was taking place – so they could simulate the ship-to-shore missions for the helicopters as they supported the movement of fuel, weapons and other supplies to the island that was seized. Brodie noted “there’s immense utility in being able to just hold ground,” where the Marines could bring people, logistics, radars and more ashore by air or by surface connector...."Photo: "An F-35B Lightning II fighter aircraft with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 lands at Ie Shima Training Facility during simulated Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations, March 14, 2019. Marines with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit are conducting simulated EABO in a series of dynamic training events to refine their ability to plan, rehearse and complete a variety of missions. During EABO, the 31st MEU partnered with the 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Marine Logistics Group and 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, and airmen with the U.S. Air Force 353rd Special Operations Group, planning and executing training mission sets for military operations. US Marine Corps photo."
https://news.usni.org/wp-content/upload ... 191467.jpg
Source: https://news.usni.org/2019/04/23/marine ... ng-concept
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