{"id":135590,"date":"2019-05-07T16:10:51","date_gmt":"2019-05-07T16:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smg.go-vip.net\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/05\/07\/marines-experiment-with-mini-carriers-for-their-stealthy-fighters\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:56:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:56:59","slug":"marines-experiment-with-mini-carriers-for-their-stealthy-fighters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2019\/05\/07\/marines-experiment-with-mini-carriers-for-their-stealthy-fighters\/","title":{"rendered":"Marines experiment with \u2018mini-carriers\u2019 for their stealthy fighters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. \u2014 The F-35B Lightning II joint strike fighter is still a bit of a boot to the Marine Corps\u2019 jet fleet, despite notching three deployments and conducting strike missions in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that hasn\u2019t slowed the service\u2019s experiments with its high-tech fighter. Sailing the South China Sea in the early months of 2019<\/a>, the amphibious assault ship Wasp hauled 10 of the stealthy planes on its flattop flight deck \u2014 four more than is typically embarked on a big deck amphib.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cmini lightning carriers\u201d provide another \u201ctool in the toolkit” for combatant commanders, Marine Lt. Gen. Steven R. Rudder, the deputy commandant for aviation, said at the 2019 Sea-Air-Space exposition here on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were able to turn sorties off that like you would mini lightning carriers,” Rudder told the expo audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\t