AIR International – June 2018

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SCENE

and their families, the great
and the good from industry,
the military and politicians
including Minister for Defence
Procurement at the Ministry
of Defence (MoD) Guto Bebb
MP who told us: “The F-35 will
form the backbone of our air
power for decades to come,
and its arrival in the UK during
the 100th anniversary of the
RAF marks a truly historic
moment.” Flight-lead Wing
Commander John Butcher,
OC 617 Squadron said: “It
was a good fl ight across from

the United States, the weather

was in our favour and it felt

absolutely brilliant bringing the

jets back here today. When

you are looking to have the

fi ghting edge you need F-

and certainly F-35B - working

Royal Air Force and Royal Navy

side by side - to give us that

combat air advantage and we

can do it from the land and

sea.” The pilots were welcomed

by the chiefs of both services

destined to use the F-35, First

Sea Lord Admiral Sir Philip Jones

remarked: “Ever since aircraft

fi rst operated to and from ships,

the Royal Navy has been at the

forefront of maritime aviation

and the arrival of our fi rst F-35Bs

in the UK today, fl own by both

RAF and Fleet Air Arm pilots, is

another important milestone

on the way to restoring our

place as leaders in the fi eld

of aircraft carrier operations.”

Refl ecting the future use of the

Lightning by the Royal Air Force

and Royal Navy, one of the four

jets was fl own by Royal Navy

Lieutenant Commander Adam

Hogg who reminded everyone

of the e ort required to achieve

the milestone: “We may be the

pilots that arrived here today,

but there’s been a lot of people

[working] to enable us getting

here.” Chief of the Air Sta , Air

Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier

told us: “It’s a historic moment

and I’ve congratulated the pilots

on a long transit across the

Atlantic but it’s great to see them

here at RAF Marham. Nine tanker

brackets, 4,000 miles across the

Atlantic - what that demonstrates

is the skill and professionalism of

our pilots and our engineers.”

A lot of effort

Three Voyager tankers and one

A400M Atlas were deployed to take

the four F-35Bs from their former

home base in South Carolina to

the UK.

Voyager KC2 ZZ330, radio call

sign Ascot 9101, launched from

Charleston Air Force Base, South

Carolina and provided aerial

refuelling support to the Lightnings

during the fi rst three-and-a-half

hours of the trail along the eastern

seaboard of North America

to a position o the coast of

Newfoundland. Departing Gander,

Newfoundland, Voyager KC3 ZZ

‘Ascot 9102’ and Voyager KC

ZZ331 ‘Ascot 9103’ rendezvoused

with Lightnings ZM145, ZM146,

ZM147, ZM148 ‘Ascot 9511 fl ight’

before committing to the Atlantic

crossing, whereupon the original

tanker, Ascot 9101, landed at

Gander. Atlas C1 ZM401 ‘Ascot

4085’, launched from Bangor,

Maine, to provide search and

rescue and logistics support across

the Atlantic. The Atlas and the

two Voyagers landed at RAF Brize

Norton in Oxfordshire.

The F-35B’s three-bearing swivel

module points downward during

the aircraft’s approach, in this case

during a short, rolling landing.

The immense power generated by

the aircraft’s F135 engine and the

resultant exhaust plume blew dust

and debris close to, but not on,

the runway, all around creating an

interesting backdrop to the photo.

Sgt Nik Howe/Royal Air Force

The F-35B’s shutdown

process involves checking

many of the aircraft’s

systems including the

50-inch (1.27m) titanium

lift fan door on top of the

fuselage. Jerry Gunner