The long awaited F-35 strike fighter had one of its three versions -- the F-35B -- declared operational on July 31 in an announcement by Gen. Joe Dunford -- incoming Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. The F-35B will be used by the U.S. Marine Corps, which has plans to buy 340 of the B and 80 of the C model.  The F-35B was developed with short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) capability for use from Marine Corps small deck carriers; while the C has larger wings and is optimized for use from U.S. Navy conventional aircraft carriers.  Currently 10 F-35B's are in service with plans for the first deployment to take place in 2017.  The F-35A is scheduled to go into service with the U.S. Air Froce next year, while the U.S. Navy will have operational F-35C's in 2018.

 To Stay Updated FOLLOW The Whitehurst Blog.  VISIT THIS LINK then CLICK THE FOLLOW BUTTON