The US Marine Corps has received its first carrier-based Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II, marking the 36th and final delivery of a Joint Strike Fighter in 2014.
Lockheed Martin says the 22 December delivery of aircraft CF-19 meets the 36 aircraft delivery target for 2014, and marks the 109th overall delivery of operational F-35s to the USA and partner operators.
The first USMC F-35C out of a planned 80 will be assigned to the US Navy’s VFA-101 “Grim Reapers” squadron, 33rd Fighter Wing, based at Eglin AFB. After delivery CF-19 will be used for F-35C pilot training.
via USMC receives first F-35C – 12/23/2014 – Flight Global.
One of the quirks of the F-35 program to replace the legacy F/A-18A/B/C/D Hornets is that while the Marines are focused on buying the STOVL “B” model of the F-35, they also have a requirement to provide strike fighter squadrons to the Navy’s carrier air wings on a rotational basis.
But the F-35B isn’t really suited for integration with a Carrier Air Wing. And so, the Marines are having to buy an eventual 80 of the carrier capable “C” model.
XBradTC 
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