The 809 Naval Air Squadron is to be resurrected as the first Royal Navy unit to fly the Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.
The fifth-generation stealth aircraft will be operated from the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth Class carriers that are due to enter service in 2018.
The Chief of the Air Staff announced earlier this year that the 617 ‘Dambusters’ Squadron would be the first RAF squadron to fly the jets.
The F-35s will be jointly operated by the Fleet Air Arm and the Royal Air Force; pilots from both services are currently in training on the aircraft alongside the US Marine Corps at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
The 809 Naval Air Squadron was last reformed to support operations in the Falkland Islands and the squadron also flew the Navy’s last Buccaneer in the 1960s and 1970s.
When not at sea as, the squadron will be based at RAF Marham, Norfolk.
Source Ministry of Defence
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