20 February 2016, NAS Patuxent River, USA — Lt. Cmdr. Daniel “Tonto” Kitts, an F-35 Lightning II test pilot assigned to the Salty Dogs of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23, landed in the history books last 10 February, 2016, when he performed the first arrestment of a Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II with external weapons. Flight 282 of aircraft CF-03 from the F-35 Lightning II Pax River Integrated Test Force (ITF) was based at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland.
Compared to the Air Force F-35A, the F-35C carrier variant features larger wings with foldable wingtips, larger wing and tail control surfaces for improved low-speed control, stronger landing gear for the stresses of aircraft-carrier arrested landings, a twin-wheel nose gear, and a stronger tail hook for use with carrier arresting cables. The larger wing area allows for decreased landing speed while increasing both range and payload.
The U.S. Navy intends to buy 480 F-35Cs to replace in the long run the F/A-18A, B, C, and D Hornets and complement the Super Hornet fleet. On 27 June 2007, the F-35C completed its Air System Critical Design Review (CDR), allowing the production of the first two functional prototypes. Let’s recall that the first F-35C was rolled out on 29 July 2009.
Adding to the STOVL F-35B capability, the U.S. Marine Corps will also purchase 80 F-35Cs, enough for five squadrons, for use with U.S. Navy Carrier Air Wings, in a joint service agreement signed on 14 March 2011. Indeed, a recent 2014 document stated that the USMC will also have four squadrons of F-35Cs with ten aircraft per squadron for the Marine Corps’ contribution to U.S. Navy CAWs. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Dane Wiedmann).