F-35B on Track to Reach IOC in 2015

The Marine Corps is still optimistic it will declare initial operational capability for its new fleet of F-35B strike fighters in 2015, said Lt. Gen. Kenneth Glueck, deputy commandant for combat development and integration, on Thursday. The Marines plan on reaching full operational capability already by 2016, he told reporters in Washington D.C. Additionally, the service is “still on track” to deploy F-35Bs at sea by 2017 aboard the USS Wasp for a western Pacific deployment, he said. “That may be delayed, but that’s due to the schedule of the Wasp,” noted Glueck.?