Once they dropped the bombs on the
target they returned to the wasp where
they reloaded refueled and flew back out
to hit the floating red blob again. It was the first ever shipboard hot
reloads in the indo-pacific region, according to a marine corps news release
announcing the Milestone.
Or as chief warrant officer 3 Daniel Solis put it they showed how marines
operating in the theater can now reign
destruction like never before. Our skilled controllers and pilots
combined with these systems take the
31st marine expeditionary unit to the
next level, he said in a statement. My Ordnance team proved efficiency with
these operations and i couldn't be
prouder of them.
The aircraft which are assigned to
marine medium tiltrotor squadron 265
reinforced and deployed with the Meu
also fired the GAU-22 cannon during the
exercise. The four-barrel 25-millimeter system is
carried in an external pod on the
marines F-35 variant. The F-35bs weren't the only aircraft
engaging the killer tomato during the
live-fire exercise.
The MV-22B Osprey aircraft and navy MH-60s Seahawk Helicopters also fired at the mock
target. The 31st Meu was the first marine
expeditionary unit to deploy with the F-35B. The aircraft has since had its first
combat deployment to the middle east
where it dropped bombs on islamic state
in taliban militants.
Two u.s warships sailed near disputed
islands in the south china sea on monday, challenging beijing's claims for the
third time this year amid simmering
trade tensions.
The guided missile destroyers uss preble
and uss chung hoon passed within 12
nautical miles of Gavin and Johnson Reefs, said Commander Clay Das a
spokesman for the u.s navy 7th fleet. The
china-occupied features are part of the
spratly chain which are also claimed by
the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
The move was intended to assert
international rights to innocent passage
and challenge excessive maritime claims, Das said. The u.s has conducted at least three
so-called freedom of navigation
operations in the south china sea this
year compared with five publicly
reported trips in all of 2018.
All operations are designed in
accordance with international law and
demonstrate that the united states will
fly sail and operate wherever
international law allows, Das said. The
operation was first reported by Reuters. such patrols have sometimes resulted in
intense encounters at sea, during a
similar operation Near Gavin and Johnson Reefs in september a u.s destroyer was
forced to maneuver to avoid a collision
with a chinese warship.
The disputed south china sea is one of
several potential strategic flashpoints
between china and the u.s where tensions
have flared during the ongoing trade war. Still freedom of navigation operations
require some advance planning and
monday's transit was likely unrelated to
u.s president Donald Trump's latest
tariff threat.
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