US Marine F-35C Stealth Jets Roar Into Middle East Skies

U.S. Marine Corps F-35C stealth fighter jets thundered off a runway at an undisclosed base in the Middle East during routine flight operations, according to U.S. Central Command.

CENTCOM released the footage on October 23. It shows a pilot strapped into the cockpit and a crew member in a flight suit working beneath the jet’s landing gear before the fighters take off one after another from a desert runway. The jets then climb into a clear blue sky and fly overhead in pairs.

CENTCOM said the Marines were launching the jets “during routine flight operations” and did not say which base or country the aircraft were flying from.

The F-35C is the carrier-capable variant of the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter.