March 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. military sent F-35B Lightning II aircraft this week to the East China Sea for the fighter's first operational deployment with a Marine Expeditionary Unit.
A detachment of the aircraft deployed with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit landed Monday on the USS Wasp, an amphibious assault ship, according to the U.S. Marines. The expeditionary unit will patrol the Indo-Pacific region this spring.