{"id":35492,"date":"2018-05-21T20:06:23","date_gmt":"2018-05-21T20:06:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/05\/21\/uk-f-35-pilots-get-in-gear-to-bring-the-joint-strike-fighter-to-britain\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:54:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:54:01","slug":"uk-f-35-pilots-get-in-gear-to-bring-the-joint-strike-fighter-to-britain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/training-sim\/2018\/05\/21\/uk-f-35-pilots-get-in-gear-to-bring-the-joint-strike-fighter-to-britain\/","title":{"rendered":"UK F-35 pilots get in gear to bring the joint strike fighter to Britain"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Feel the power of a British Royal Air Force F-35B’s full afterburner takeoff at MCAS Beaufort in South Carolina. (Jeff Martin\/Staff)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

MARINE AIR STATION BEAUFORT, S.C. \u2014 At a U.S. Marine Corps base in South Carolina, newly minted F-35 pilots from the Royal Air Force are making their final preparations<\/a> for a transatlantic flight<\/a> that will finally bring the joint strike fighter permanently to the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the work won\u2019t stop once the first four jets from 617 Squadron arrive at RAF Marham in early June, or even when another five F-35Bs transfer to the base by the end of the summer. RAF pilots and maintainers will have to hustle to hit a key milestone \u2014 initial operational capability \u2014 by the end of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that they will have a head start. The June flight from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort to Marham is set to happen anytime between June 5 and June 10, weather permitting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s a full two months ahead of schedule, said Wing Cmdr. Scott \u201cMox\u201d Williams, the U.K.\u2019s senior national representative at Beaufort. Williams has been tapped to lead 207 Squadron, another F-35B squadron, when it reconstitutes in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur base [at Marham] has to be able to take and operate that airplane<\/a>. So we are at a point now where we believe we can do that,\u201d he told Defense News during a May 17 visit to Beaufort. \u201cAnd the final thing… that is really driving it all, is that it gives us more time in the U.K. to do that build up to IOC.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 120 RAF personnel and 11 of the U.K.\u2019s F-35Bs are currently stationed at MCAS Beaufort for joint strike fighter training. There, both RAF and U.S. Marine Corps pilots learn from the same curriculum, share jets and fly together on a daily basis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe train at a very basic F-35 level that\u2019s common across the two services,\u201d Williams said, adding that the only real difference is that U.S. and U.K. pilots will sometimes go to different briefings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 40 of the original 160 RAF personnel stationed at Beaufort \u2014 including the pilots who will be making the transatlantic flight next month \u2014 have already returned to the United Kingdom to get ready for the build up to IOC at Marham. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pilots will return to Beaufort in late May to refresh their skills on the simulator and do currency flights, Williams said. Finally, the first four F-35Bs will make their flight across the pond, accompanied by an Airbus A330 tanker that will continuously refuel the aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For both U.S. and international acquisition programs, the milestone of initial operational capability varies depending on that particular country\u2019s requirements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Williams declined to say how the RAF has defined IOC, but said it involves having a certain number of planes ready to conduct day or night missions in the areas of air interdiction, close air support, suppression of enemy air defenses, defensive counter air and offensive counter air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n