USN second F-35C squadron declared safe for flight

On 18 February 2022, Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 97 Warhawks ('NE-4xx') reached the status Safe for Flight on the Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II. VFA-97 is the second squadron, after VFA-147 Argonauts, to reach that status.

VFA-97 flew their Super Hornets for the last time from NAS Lemoore (CA) on 26 February 2021 and started their F-35 conversion/transition at Lemoore with VFA-125 Rough Raiders, the Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) for the F-35C.

The newest F-35C squadron is slated to move to MCAS Iwakuni (Japan) by FY2024 to join Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 and will be coded 'NF-xxx'. Possibly, the squadron will make a deployment in FY23 with another Carrier Air Wing before moving to Japan.

In March 2021, Scramble Magazine wrote on the transition of the Warhawks to the F-35C.

Photo by Nick Kort (via Jetphotos.com)