Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert says he is hopeful that Navy will be able to operate F-35B fighters and V-22 aircraft off the service’s planned at-sea base ships.
The Navy plans to build up to four of the Montford Point-class staging bases to launch aircraft and small boats and special operations forces. Two are planned as Mobile Landing Platforms, or MLPs, with the latter two slated to become known as Afloat Forward Stages Bases, or AFSBs.
The construction of the first AFSB, the future USNS Lewis B. Puller, is about halfway complete. Greenert said he wants to be able to operate V-22 tiltorotor aircraft and would “love it” if the Marine Corps short takeoff and vertical landing variant of the F-35 could also fly off the ship.
“We’ll see,” he said.
The F-35B and V-22s generate significantly higher levels of heat than other aircraft and flight decks must be capable of absorbing the elevated temperatures. The Navy is still seeking congressional approval for the fourth ship.