The first four Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightnings to be based in the UK arrived at RAF Marham yesterday after a 24-hour delay to their transatlantic journey by bad weather. The UK previously took delivery of the F-35Bs at MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina, and kept them there for training. Another five will follow by the end of August, as No. 617 Squadron works to achieve initial operating capability (IOC) from land bases by the end of the year. It is being jointly manned by Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Navy personnel as the squadron will later go to sea on the UK’s new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.
The weather delay caused adverse comment, but the RAF was unwilling to waive a peacetime safety rule that long overwater transits should not take place in sea states above five, due to the difficulty of locating and rescuing a pilot who has ejected. Also, the crosswind was above limits at one of the emergency diversion airfields en route. The 4,000-mile formation flight took 8.5 hours and included nine top-up aerial refuelings from three RAF Voyager (A330MRTT) tankers.
