Landing an F-35B Lightning II fighter jet aboard a ship at sea is not as simple as pulling alongside and then setting down from a hover. Numerous procedures, policies, and contingencies come into play, which is why it's always a good idea to have a trained landing signal officer (LSO) monitoring the approach.
In this episode of The Fighter Pilot Podcast, former U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier-turned F-35B pilot Maj. Brian "SAK" Kimmins details efforts to establish the Marine Corps F-35B STOVL LSO school at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, to close what he sees as a critical gap in LSOs available for deployments.
“My long-term vision is an LSO school where we teach F-35B LSOs to become subject matter experts in shipboard and expeditionary advanced base operations integration for their squadrons,” as Kimmins previously described it. “The training will lay the foundation for team building with partner nation LSOs.”
Kimmins received his naval aviator wings in 2012 and was assigned to the AV-8B. He joined Marine Attack Squadron (VMA) 211, Marine Aircraft Group 13, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, as a Harrier pilot in 2013 before transitioning to the F-35B in 2019 and returning to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211 in 2021 as an F-35B pilot, according to his official Marine Corps biography.
The school Kimmins envisions is a lot like what career LSO Joe "Jamboy" Kirksey explained exists for conventional carrier aircraft on Ep. 178.
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