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Watch A Marine Corps F-35B Fire Its Gun Pod While Flying Off The Coast Of Somalia Marine F-35Bs are on call to provide close air support in support of the withdrawal of American troops out of Somalia.

24 December, 2020 | Filed under: All News,more news,Opinion,RECENT POSTS,Somali news | Posted by:

The U.S. Navy has released a video of U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Joint Strike Fighters conducting flight operations from the deck of the Wasp class amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island, including a clip of one of the jets conducting live-fire training with its 25mm underbelly gun pod.
A US Marine Corps F-35B fires its gun pod while flying over the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia in December 2020.

Makin Island and the F-35Bs onboard, as well as other elements of its Amphibious Ready Group, or ARG, and the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, or MEU, are in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia
These Navy and Marine forces, among other U.S. military elements in the region, are supporting the withdrawal of American troops from that East African country, which you can read about in more detail in this recent War Zone piece.

The footage from Makin Island first appeared online on Dec. 23, 2020, but was filmed four days earlier. U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) only publicly announced the arrival of the Makin Island ARG, which also includes the San Antonio class landing platform dock amphibious ships USS San Diego and USS Somerset, as well as the embarked 15th MEU, in the region on Dec. 22. In addition to the F-35s, the aerial component of the 15th MEU also includes MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotors, CH-53E Super Stallion heavy-lift helicopters, AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters, and UH-1Y Venom light utility helicopters, as well as RQ-21 Blackjack drones. Navy MH-60 Seahawk helicopters are also part of the joint force.


A US Marine Corps F-35B operating from the USS Makin Island in the Indian Ocean on Dec. 18, 2020.

 The video, seen below, starts with a clip of four F-35Bs on the Makin Island‘s deck, all of which appear to be equipped with the GPU-9/A gun pod. The stealthy fighter jets also have wingtip rails for carrying AIM-9X Sidewinders installed, but without any of those missiles loaded onto them. No other external weapons or pylons are visible and it’s not clear if any of the jets had munitions loaded in their internal bays.

 One of the jets is subsequently seen conducting a short takeoff from the Makin Island. The video then cuts to footage of an F-35B performing a gun run into the ocean near the amphibious assault ship, emitting a familiar “brrrt” sound as the aircraft pulls up.

“The F-35Bs are providing close-air support to Operation Octave Quartz [OOQ],” the video’s caption says, referring to the official name of the Somalia withdrawal operation. “The mission of OOQ is to relocate U.S. Department of Defense forces in Somalia to other East Africa operating locations while maintaining pressure on violent extremists and supporting partner forces.”

Source:thedrive.com/