Aircraft
F-35C Fleet Deployment Preparations Gather Pace
A recent round of carrier qualifications has been conducted while the first deployable squadron begins training in earnest.
An F-35C of VFA-125 “Rough Raiders” traps aboard USS Abraham Lincoln during the March carrier qualification deployment. (Photo: U.S. Navy)
An F-35C of VFA-125 “Rough Raiders” traps aboard USS Abraham Lincoln during the March carrier qualification deployment. (Photo: U.S. Navy)

Initial operational capability (IOC) for the Lockheed Martin F-35C is expected to come early next year as the Navy stands up its first fleet-deployable squadron. To prepare for initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) trials, pilots from the two fleet replenishment (training) squadrons—VFA-101 “Grim Reapers” from Eglin AFB, Florida, and VFA-125 “Rough Raiders” from NAS Lemoore, California—undertook an at-sea carrier-qualification deployment aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in March, during which 140 arrested recoveries, or “traps,” were accomplished.


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