F-35 at Northern Edge

05/09/2017
05/09/2017: U.S. Marines from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 perform preflight operational checks on a U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II aircraft at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, May 4, 2017. Northern Edge, Alaska’s largest and premier joint training exercise, is designed to enhance interoperability among the services and ensure service members…

VMFA-121 Update

04/27/2017
04/28/2017: This video contains footage of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 conducting ordnance reload training on the F-35B’s with the engine running for the first time ever on Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni. U.S. Marines with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron (VMGR) 152 conducted aviation delivered ground refueling with Marine Fighter…

VMFA-121 at Red Beach

12/16/2016
12/16/2016: We have recently interviewed the CO of VMFA-121 in Yuma in early December 2016 and will shortly publish his interview.  This story published last December highlights a milestone along the way for the squadron as it prepares for its deployment to Japan in 2017. An F-35B Lightning II from Marine Fighter…

F-35B Aerial Refueling

07/09/2016
07/09/2016: U.S. Marine Corps F35B Lighting II assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, Marine Aircraft Group 13, 3d Marine Aircraft Wing(MAW),particpate in aerial refueling missions with KC130J Super Hercules assigned to Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 352, Marine Air Group 11, 3d MAW at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz,…

VMFA-121 Conducts F-35B Simulated Flight Deck Training At MCAS Yuma

05/15/2015
05/15/2015: F-35B pilots, Maj. Aric Liberman (05 jet) and Capt. Brian Hansell (01 jet), with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 based out of Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., perform short take off and vertical landings as part of required flying field carrier landing practices (FCLP) at the stations auxiliary…

The 2014 Miramar Air Show: The End of the CH-46 Era and the Beginning of the F-35B Transformation

10/15/2014
10/12/2014: F-35 Lightning II with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121 performing at the 2014 Miramar Air Show aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., Oct. 4. The show was noteworthy for marking both the end of an era and a beginning. The CH-46 flew at the air show at…

F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter

04/10/2013
04/10/2013: Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 conducted its first F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter Short Take Off, Vertical Landing operations aboard Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz. at approximately 8:45 a.m. March 21. This was also the first dual flight of VMFA-121 F-35B aircraft.  F-35 test pilot Maj. Richard Rusnok…