The F-35B made its first trans-Atlantic flight June 29, 2016. Three F-35’s flew from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina and landed at Royal Air Force Base Fairford in Gloucestershire, England. They were assisted by two KC-10’s, and refueled 15 times over the Atlantic. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Brian Burdett/Released) - The F-35B made its first trans-Atlantic flight June 29, 2016. Three F-35’s flew from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina and landed at Royal Air Force Base Fairford in Gloucestershire, England. They were assisted by two KC-10’s, and refueled 15 times over the Atlantic. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Brian Burdett/Released)

U.S. Marine Corps Col. Matthew Kelly, military assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, provides background on the Marine Corps’ F-35B program to Air Marshall Bollam, Chief of Defence Material Air, United Kingdom, aboard USS Wasp while embarked in the Atlantic Ocean May 20, 2015. The current Marine Corps operational test, scheduled to continue through the end of May, will assess the integration of the F-35B while operating across a wide array of flight and deck operations, maintenance operations and logistical supply chain support in an at-sea environment. A former test pilot and career Marine aviator, Kelly participated in the earlier shipboard developmental tests of the F-35B. Royal Navy and Royal Air Force pilots are scheduled to begin flying the F-35B from the UK in 2018, and are on track to operate from the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers in 2020. - U.S. Marine Corps Col. Matthew Kelly, military assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, provides background on the Marine Corps’ F-35B program to Air Marshall Bollam, Chief of Defence Material Air, United Kingdom, aboard USS Wasp while embarked in the Atlantic Ocean May 20, 2015. The current Marine Corps operational test, scheduled to continue through the end of May, will assess the integration of the F-35B while operating across a wide array of flight and deck operations, maintenance operations and logistical supply chain support in an at-sea environment. A former test pilot and career Marine aviator, Kelly participated in the earlier shipboard developmental tests of the F-35B. Royal Navy and Royal Air Force pilots are scheduled to begin flying the F-35B from the UK in 2018, and are on track to operate from the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers in 2020.