VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — The Navy says an operational F-35C joint strike fighter has landed at Naval Air Station Oceana for the first time.
Naval Air Station Oceana is the Navy’s master jet base on the East Coast. The Navy says the plane came to the Virginia Beach base Tuesday to provide aviators in the fleet with an opportunity to view it and receive a briefing from the jet’s flight crew and maintainers.
Three variants of the aircraft are being developed and built, one each for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.
The F-35C is the carrier variant and is assigned to a fighter squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.
The first aircraft carrier arrested landing with the F-35C is scheduled next week aboard the USS Nimitz off the coast of California.
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