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On Monday, six F-35B Lightning IIs arrived aboard the USS Wasp for two weeks of sea trials. The two-week operational test mission fulfills a Marine Corps requirement before its first squadron of 10 F-35s reaches IOC, or Initial Operational Capability, later this summer.

Two of the jets come from MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina, and the other four have made the journey out from MCAS Yuma, Arizona. The Wasp, an amphibious assault ship, is currently at sea off the coast of Virginia, and the test marks the first time this many F-35s have been aboard a US Navy vessel.

via Six Marine Corps F-35Bs Go To Sea | Fighter Sweep.

Well, we’ll see how it goes. It’s unclear if Wasp also has aboard the augmented MV-22 squadron that forms the heart of the Air Combat Element of the embarked Marine Expeditionary Unit, or if it is just the F-35s.