VMFA-121 Operating from the USS Wasp

09/25/2018
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-Asian-Pacific. The F-35B, assigned under…

VMFA-121 At Misawa Air Base

06/13/2018
Marine Aircraft Group 12 forces deployed several F-35B Lightning ll's for a regularly scheduled aviation training relocation at Misawa Air Base, Japan, May 9, 2018.  [maxgallery id="117631"] ATR's are designed to increase operational readiness and bilateral interoperability for both U.S. and Japanese forces.  AOMORI, JAPAN 05.22.2018 Photo by Lance Cpl. Alexia…

VMFA-121 Works Standard Ordinance Evolution

06/12/2018
Marines from the ordnance section of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, load inert explosives into an F-35B Lightning II as part of a regularly scheduled aircraft training relocation at Misawa Air Base, Japan, May 15, 2018.  [maxgallery id="117647"] ATR's are designed to…

Arming the F-35 the Marine Corps Way

04/18/2018
Marines with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 mount 1,000 pound Guided Bomb Units onto an F-35B Lightning IIs on the flight deck of the USS Wasp (LHD-1) while underway in the Philippine Sea, March 24, 2018.  This event marked the first time an F-35 has been loaded with live ordnance…

Remaining VMFA-121 F-35Bs Arrive in Japan

11/21/2017
11/21/17: U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II aircraft with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121 lands at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni, Japan, Nov. 15, 2017. The remaining aircraft represent the last installment of F-35B Lightning IIs assigned to VMFA-121. The F-35B Lightning II is a fifth-generation fighter, which…

F-35B Hot Loading

10/26/2017
10/26/2017: In a story published by the USMC on September 21, 2017, a recent F-35B hot loading exercise during the WTI course was discussed and highlighted. By Pfc. Ethan Pumphret MARINE CORPS AIR STATION YUMA, Ariz. – Hot-loading is when an aircraft lands and has ordnance loaded while the engine is still…

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…