US Navy photo by Andy Wolfe
Four F-35B Lightning II aircraft perform a flyover above the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) during the Lightning Carrier Proof of Concept Demonstration.
The US Marine Corps' recent proof of concept for the F-35B short takeoff, vertical landing variant aboard the USS America produced "the most powerful concentration of combat power ever put to sea in the history of the world," according to one F-35 test pilot.
Indeed the America is the US's newest amphibious assault ship, designed for waging war on beaches and coastal zones with the F-35's revolutionary technologies in mind.
Both the America-class and the F-35 programs have faced criticisms, sometimes harshly, for their departure from traditional warfare roles, among other things. But lately these programs seem to be shaping up nicely.
The America abandons well decks, or the space to launch landing vessels to take beaches, in favor of increased hangar space to haul and maintain more aircraft. In its most plane-heavy configuration, the America can carry 20 F-35Bs.
In the video below, the Marines placed 12 F-35Bs on the America to prove a concept that's been literally decades in the making, and thereby creating a ship that's not even technically classified as an aircraft carrier, yet one of the biggest and deadliest ships in the world.