YUMA — The first squadron of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters activated by the U.S. Marine Corps will be based in Yuma, officials said.
A squadron at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma will transition to the new plane in 2011, said Lt. Col. Scott Fazekas, who is based at Marine Corps headquarters in Washington.
A second squadron will be sent to the Marines' Miramar air station in San Diego, with additional squadrons to be alternated between the two cities.
The F-35 Lightning II is a single-seat, supersonic, multirole stealth aircraft built by Lockheed Martin Corp. It is designed to be used by the Air Force, Navy and Marines in air-to-air combat and ground-attack roles.
The Marine version will be able to take off in very short distances and land vertically. It will replace the service's AV-8B Harrier and F-18 Hornet fighters, and it will have twice the range. There also are versions planned for use by the Air Force and the Navy.
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"There has never been a supersonic plane that can take off and land vertically," said Lockheed Martin spokesman John Kent. "It's also a stealth fighter, so it will be hard for radar to detect."
A pre-production model of the F-35 is undergoing ground testing and is expected to make its first flight sometime this fall.
