JFK and the Salty Dogs Bring in Navy’s 251st in Style

The future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) marked a milestone on October 13 (the Navy’s official birthday) by recovering her first aircraft, an F-35C Lightning II assigned to the “Salty Dogs” of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23. A U.S. Navy F-35C Lightning II, attached to the “Salty Dogs” of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23, makes an arrested landing on the flight deck aboard PCU John F. Kennedy (CVN 79), marking the first time an F-35C lands on a Ford-class aircraft carrier. John F. Kennedy is underway conducting Aircraft Compatibility Testing, which assesses the ship’s aircraft launch and recovery equipment with U.S. Navy aircraft. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Ka It was the first F-35C recovery aboard a Ford-class carrier. That is important, as just four of the Navy’s 11 carriers, all Nimitz-class, can operate the F-35C: Carl Vinson, Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington Two F-35 test pilots from Air Test and Evaluation…