Marine Fighter Attack (VMFA) F-35B fighters – 211 Squadron arrived at RAF Marham yesterday to begin their UK deployment. The ten F-35B jets flew from their base in Yuma, Arizona to visit the UK for the first time.
US Marine Corps Squadron (MCAS) will be working alongside 617 Squadron ahead of a group exercise in September where they will board Her Majesty's Ship (HMS) Queen Elizabeth to participate in Exercise t Warrior. VMFA-211 Squadron will conduct synthetic training on the purpose-built simulators at RAF Marham to familiarize themselves with local airspace and procedures before taking to the skies over Norfolk to fly training sorties alongside 617 Squadron in preparation for their embark with the aircraft carrier at the end of this month. They will also participate in Exercise Point Blank with their colleagues at the local base RAF Lakenheath, along with other NATO partners.
Throughout this preparation period, 211 and 617 Squadron personnel will be quarantined and undergo COVID-19 testing to ensure they are free of COVID-19 before boarding the ship.
Once aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth, the two squadrons will conduct carrier qualification training to ensure all pilots are proficient to operate from the carrier day and night. The training will also include live and inert weapons training ahead of Carrier Strike Group 21 (CSG21) next year, which will see the carrier deployed operationally for the first time.
With training complete, the aircraft will conduct Exercise t Warrior from HMS Queen Elizabeth, which will bring multiple units together to train collaboratively in preparation for CSG21.
Upon completion of Exercise t Warrior, 211 and 617 Squadrons will return to RAF Marham, where they will prepare to participate in a new exercise, Crimson Warrior, which will allow the F-35s to conduct cutting-edge training alongside other platforms in a contested and degraded environment, with this year's focus being on multi-domain operations.
Source: RAF
