F-35B Stealth Fighter: How the US Marine Corps Could Dominate the Sky

With the United States Marine Corps purchasing the bulk of the Department of the Navy’s (DON) planned fleet of 680 Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, the service will likely form the dominant component of naval tactical aviation in the coming decades. The implication is that by the 2030s, it will be the Marine Corps’ aviation assets that will be projecting power deep into heavily defended airspace from the sea instead of the Navy’s full-sized flattops. Meanwhile, the Navy’s vaunted carrier air wings will still be dominated by fourth-generation Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet with a small number of F-35Cs supplementing them—leaving the $13 billion warships with limited ability to fight against high-end threats.

To read the full article, visit the National Interest website.