Maritime Warfare Milestone Event: Carrier-Launched Stealth 5th-Gen F-35C Deployed

Related File Video Above: Warrior Maven Video Interview: War in the F-35 – A Pilot’s View

By Kris Osborn – President & Editor-In-Chief, Warrior Maven

In what could be described as a milestone event in the evolution of maritime warfare and power projection, the first of its kind carrier-launched stealth 5th-generation F-35C deployed for the first time in 2021. 

Carrier launched stealth power has now set sail and taken to the skies, a development likely to change the threat equation for US carriers by greatly multiplying the kinds of dilemmas the US Navy could present to its adversaries. 

F-35C Deployed From USS Carl Vinson

The aircraft, which has of course been in development for many years now, has been operational for a bit, yet the jet has now been “deployed” for the first time by flying from the deck of the USS Carl Vinson. 

While there are many respects in which this changes things for US Navy concepts of operation and tactics, one immediate reality is simply that it gives maritime power projection a new ability to hold major power rivals at risk from the ocean. 

An upgraded F/A-18 would likely have trouble countering advanced Russian or Chinese air defense systems or challenging an enemy’s 5th-generation fighters, an F-35 would be in a position to potentially reshape this dynamic.