USMC tactical aviation transition plan nears finish line
An F-35C Lightning II assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314 takes off from MCAS Miramar, California. (3rd Marine Aircraft Wing)
The US Marine Corps (USMC) is roughly two-thirds through transforming into “an all fifth-generation fleet” consisting of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, according to USMC Colonel Thomas Bolen, branch chief for Air Warfare Systems - TACAIR (AWS-TACAIR).
Nine TACAIR squadrons have reached full operating capability (FOC) with the F-35, with three additional squadrons “gusting toward FOC in the next few months”, Col Bolen said during a 20 April briefing at the Navy League Sea Air Space 2026 maritime exposition.
On the legacy systems side, the USMC's current AV-8 Harrier fleet is slated to “sundown here over the next couple of months”, with three more years left on the USMC's F/A-18 Hornet A and D variants before those airframes are retired, Col Bolen said.
Total force posture for USMC TACAIR is currently 225 aircraft, with plans to hit 250 total by the end of the year heading toward a future force posture of 420 aircraft, consisting of a mix of F-35B vertical takeoff and landing variants and carrier-based C variants, according to Col Bolen said.
“As we transition into the final stages of our of the transition plan, we basically are going to set ourselves up to ensure we're balancing a crisis response [capability] with modernisation” efforts, the TACAIR chief said.
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