U.S. Stealth Fighters Join British Aircraft Carrier on Mission to South China Sea

A squadron of 10 U.S. Marine F-35B stealth jets arrived in England this week, to prepare for deploying onboard the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, flying from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona to Lakenheath, England. They’ll be joining 8 F-35Bs from the Royal Air Force’s 617 Squadron. The strike group, which will depart for the Western Pacific sometime next month, will also include the destroyers HMS Diamond and Defender; frigates HMS Richmond and Kent; an Astute-class attack submarine; and Royal Fleet Auxiliary support ships RFA Fort Victoria and RFA Tidespring, the Royal Navy said in a press release. The strike group will also be joined by the Dutch frigate HNLMS Evertsen and U.S. Navy destroyer USS The Sullivans. The transit of the Queen Elizabeth strike group will include passage through the South China Sea and an exercise with the Japan Self Defense Forces.