Lockheed Martin/Andrew McMurtrie
Up, Up and Away: An F-35C conducts a catapult take-off from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower the U.S. Navy's Development Test II.
- The US Navy hit a major milestone in its quest to make aircraft carriers a more deadly with F-35Cs training alongside current fighter jets.
- The F-35C has had a long, costly production, but now promises to revolutionize naval aviation as the first carrier-launched stealth fighter.
- The F-35C networks with US Navy ships, allowing it to spot targets and direct ship-launched missiles to destroy targets without ever firing a shot of its own.
- A video from the US Naval Institute's news service shows the jets in operation alongside each other.
The US Navy hit a major milestone in its quest to make aircraft carriers a more deadly, potent force by sailing the USS Abraham Lincoln with F-35C stealth fighters training alongside F/A-18s for the first time.
The Navy's F-35C represents the most troubled branch of the F-35 family. With the Air Force and Marines Corps F-35s coming online over a year ago, the F-35C sorely lags behind as it struggled to master carrier takeoff and landings.
The F-35C's ability to launch off the decks of the US's 11 supercarriers positions it as the replacement to the long-serving F/A-18 Super Hornet, and the first carrier-launched stealth fighter to ever take to the seas.
The USNI News reported on Tuesday that the F-35C has trained alongside F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft, and E-2D Advanced Hawkeyes early warning planes.
Rear Adm. Dale Horan, charged with integrating the F-35C into the Navy, told USNI News that unlike previous tests that merely saw carriers launching and landing the stealth jets, this time they're "conducting missions they would do in combat, if required."
Additionally, the crew of the carrier will become familiar with maintaining the F-35C while at sea.
Since the F-35's inception, boosters have billed it as a revolution in aerial combat. Never before have stealth aircraft launched off aircraft carriers, nor have planes with such advanced sensors and capabilities.
In the future, stealth F-35s could relay targeting information to fighter jets and Navy ships further back from battle to coordinate the destruction of enemy air defenses without firing a shot.
The F-35s, with a stealth design and unprecedented situational awareness provided to its pilots, was designed to fight in highly contested air
The US's move towards stealth platforms meant to challenge the defenses of top-tier militaries like Russia and China represents a broader shift towards strategic competition against great powers, rather than the usual mission of suppressing small non-state actors on the ground.
Watch a video of the F-35C's training below: