As the U.S. military prepares for the possibility of a conflict in the Pacific, the Navy and Marine Corps are working on a new way to project airpower, and they’re calling it the Lightning Carrier.
The concept, which the Corps began testing in 2016, turns amphibious assault ships, like the Navy’s America-class USS America, which is both easy to remember and ultra patriotic in a “Team America” kind of way, into small, agile flat-top carriers bristling with F-35B Lightning II aircraft and about 1,800 Marines. With the F-35B vertical take-off and landing capability, they can fit up to 20 on the deck that can support Marines as they secure or defend remote outposts through the Pacific.
The USS Tripoli served as a testbed for the concept in 2022, putting 16 of the fifth-generation fighters in place of MV-22B Ospreys and CH-53 Sea Stallions that typically occupied the flight deck. In that test, Marines and sailors kept a high operational tempo in order to demonstrate whether these relatively small ships, at just over 800 feet and 45,000 tons of displacement, could function as a floating forward operating airbase.
The Lightning Carrier concept comes out of Force Design 2030, which has resulted in some radical changes across the Corps, such as getting rid of Abrams tanks and even creating entirely new units. The push to emphasize distributed operations — basically just lots of small, agile teams with serious firepower — has naturally bled into the branch’s amphibious operations. With the People’s Republic of China a major concern in the region, the Marine Corps is preparing for scenarios in which large, vulnerable platforms, like supercarriers such as the USS Gerald R. Ford, may not be able to get close enough to the fight to be effective.
Lightning Carriers offer the Marines speed, flexibility, and a smaller operational footprint. They can operate from smaller ports, reach shallower waters, and function with fewer ships in support. Where a Carrier Strike Group consists of as many as 10 ships, including submarines, an Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) has just three.
The F-35B aircraft are well-suited to this particular mission. They don’t require catapults or arresting gear like the F-35C variant. With the onboard sensors, electronic warfare suite, and weapons, they can conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, close air support, and suppression of enemy air defenses.
In addition to the air wing, a Lightning Carrier, and the other two ships that make up the Amphibious Ready Group, can carry roughly 1,800 Marines that make up a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) along with their equipment, providing a rapid response force that can be deployed by air or sea. When paired with the F-35B, this embarked force becomes a self-contained, forward-deployed force capable of responding to threats, reinforcing remote outposts, or securing islands.
There are limitations and concerns, however. Lightning Carriers lack the defenses of larger carriers and other ships, making them more vulnerable to anti-ship missiles and other threats. Their smaller size also limits flight operations. With less space for ordnance, repair parts, and other supplies needed to maintain a high operational tempo, they’ll require more frequent resupply.
Without a catapult or arresting gear, those F-35B have a smaller range and payload capacity when compared to their Air Force and Navy cousins, and no other fixed-wing aircraft can operate from their decks.
Despite these limitations, Marine Corps leaders seem to be viewing the Lightning Carrier as a practical and adaptable platform. As Vice Adm. Karl Thomas, who was the commander of the 7th Fleet during the 2022 experimentation, said, “One day you can have F-35Bs on the flight deck, the next day you could have MV-22s and you can be putting Marines ashore.”
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