2016-12-29 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake Col. Rowell is the first Commanding Officer of VMX-1: Marine Corps Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1. VMX-1 includes the operational test & evaluation (OT&E) and science & technology (S&T) activities that have supported Marine Aviation from HMX-1, VX-9, MACCS-X and MAWTS-1. One…
12/16/2016: We have recently interviewed the CO of VMFA-121 in Yuma in early December 2016 and will shortly publish his interview. But this story from a year ago discusses a milestone to the process of the squadron preparing for its deployment to Japan in 2017. Marines and Sailors with the 3rd Marine…
2016-12-16 By Robbin Laird The last time I met with Admiral Zukunft was when he was working at the USCG headquarters in California and responsible for USCG Pacific operations. Later he would become Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area as well. We had a chance to discuss his perspective on the…
2016-12-06 By Todd Miller Statistics, Milestones, Capabilities, Flight characteristics, Test protocols, Cost, Software blocks. It is easy to get lost in the complexity of the F-35 program. The combined F-35 fleet now has over 75,000 flight hours, yet for many there remains a lack of understanding. Much of this can…
12/15/2016: Marine Col. George Rowell, the CO of VMX-1 at the Farnborough International Airshow 2016 (FIA16) discusses the visit to the Farnbourgh Airshow this past summer. VMX-1 is working the con ops of integrating the F-35B with the Osprey and the CH-53K for the MAGTF and we did interviews with VMX-1…
12/16/2016: We have recently interviewed the CO of VMFA-121 in Yuma in early December 2016 and will shortly publish his interview. But this story from July 2016 discusses a milestone to the process of the squadron preparing for its deployment to Japan in 2017. Six F-35B Lightning IIs with Marine Fighter Attack…
12/10/2016: Maintenance personnel with Air Task group 630 are able to escape the heat and distraction on the flightline at Australia's main air operations base in the Middle East. A 4K Hangar - so named because it covers an area of 4000 square feet - has been constructed to allow maintenance…
2016-12-09 : PACIFIC OCEAN (NOV. 17, 2016) The F-35 Lightning II Pax River Integrated Test Force (ITF) wrapped up its third and final developmental test phase (DT-III) of the F-35B Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant aboard amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) on November 17. The Pax River…
