Published: Jan 26, 2017
The US Navy (USN) has stood up its West Coast Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) for the Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), with the announcement on 26 January that the first aircraft from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA)-125 ‘Rough Raiders’ had arrived at Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore in California.
The unit joins VFA-101’Grim Reapers’ on the East Coast at Eglin Air Force Base (AFB) in Florida in training up USN F-35C pilots and maintainers before they deploy onto their operational squadrons. The first operational Fleet unit will be VFA-147 ‘Argonauts’, which will transition from the Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet in January 2018.