U.S. F-35 used in combat

The United States used an F-35 jet – a Marine Corps F-35B – against a Taliban target in Afghanistan on Thursday, marking the first U.S. combat use of the stealthy plane. The F-35B jet took off from the Wasp-class USS Essex (LHD 2) amphibious assault ship in the Arabian Sea in support of ground clearance operations. The F-35, made by Lockheed Martin Co, comes in three variants - the F-35A conventional take-off and landing model, the F-35B, a short take-off/vertical landing version, and the F-35C, used aboard aircraft carriers. In May, Israel became the first country to use the U.S.-made F-35 stealth fighter in combat. (Sources: Reuters, Naval Forces Central Command, Popular Mechanics, 09/27/18) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center.