MCAS will get to see F-35s

BEAUFORT, S.C. -- Military and community leaders will get a chance to see F-35 fighters during an invitation-only event next week. Two F-35B fighters, flown up from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., will be on display during the showcase Tuesday. The event will also include a tour of some of the new facilities on the base. Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort will eventually be home to three combat squadrons and two training squadrons of the next-generation jets, which will replace the F-18 Hornets currently flown at the air station. The air station is expected to get its first group of the fifth-generation fighters in January 2014, when its first training squadron will arrive. Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501, now at Eglin, will relocate to MCAS Beaufort as part of the air station's new role. (Source: Beaufort Gazette, 08/13/13)