The three Royal Navy F-35Bs might be put via an in depth inspection of airframe and substructure for any corrosive harm, following which these components might be eliminated, repaired and reinstalled.
For the primary time, the U.S. Navy’s Fleet Readiness Middle Southeast (FRCSE) at Jacksonville, Florida, hosted three Royal Navy F-35B Lightning IIs which can endure a “Manufacturing Asset Inspection Requirement Tier II (PAIR II) corrosion-mitigation inspection.” The great course of will see the FRCSE crew assessing, repairing and eradicating any corrosive harm to the airframe’s outer pores and skin, coated by very important Radar Absorbent Materials (RAM) coating.
The FRCSE introduced the work on the RN F-35Bs on Dec. 22, 2025, with pictures exhibiting the plane reached the power a lot earlier, on Dec. 3, in addition to figuring out one of many jet as belonging to the 809 Naval Air Squadron (NAS). The FRCSE inducted its first F-35B over a yr in the past, on Aug. 7, 2024, for PAIR II work, with the jet assigned to the Marine Fighter Assault Squadron 122 (VMFA-122) “Flying Leathernecks”, out of MCAS Yuma, Arizona.
The UK’s Royal Navy and Royal Air Pressure function a complete of 38 F-35Bs, out of the 48 ordered by the nation. A complete of 18 to 24 F-35Bs from each the companies not too long ago sailed aboard the HMS Prince of Wales through the eight-month lengthy Provider Strike Group 25 (CSG25) deployment, designated Operation Highmast. The jets had been assigned to the 617 Squadron, 809 NAS and 207 Squadron.
UK-U.S. F-35 cooperation and interoperability
It’s subsequently potential these three RN F-35Bs might have been deployed aboard the HMS Prince of Wales and uncovered to the tough and saline marine environments. The ship sailed the chilly, temperate waters of the north Atlantic, the nice and cozy Mediterranean Sea, the warmer Arabian Peninsula and the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans and again, exposing the plane to quite a lot of totally different situations, presumably spurring the essential PAIR II course of.
The cooperation between the UK and the U.S. has additionally been mirrored in an ‘interfly’ occasion with the Royal Australian Air Pressure, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Pressure and the Royal Air Pressure on the latest iteration of the Talisman Sabre in Australia. That is along with the a number of routine cross-servicing drills of the F-35 widespread plane sort shared by the U.S., UK and the Netherlands to boost interoperability and joint operations.
Because the FRCSE’ press launch added: “Moreover, to cut back future corrosion and restore prices, F-35 corrosion prevention greatest practices are being shared with RN upkeep counterparts for implementation each domestically and at sea.”
F-35 RAM upkeep and restore
The present work brings to the fore the essential and technically advanced LO (Low Observability) and RAM (Radar Absorbent Materials) coating upkeep on stealth jets just like the F-35 Lightning II, F-22 Raptor and B-2 Spirit. Whereas the particular paints, tiles and coatings themselves don’t impression airworthiness or fight functionality, their degradation makes the plane seen to enemy radars.
The necessity to keep general LO sturdiness and cut back the prospect of discipline repairs additionally encompasses the cockpit canopies. A “delamination” impact on the canopies had figured in a Senate Armed Companies Committee listening to in 2019, requiring redressal by Lockheed Martin, its subcontractor GKN Aerospace, and the F-35 Joint Program Workplace. New contractors had been engaged to restore, and provide recent canopies with new delamination-resistant expertise and manufacturing processes.
Particular person upkeep models have additionally introduced their very own in-house improvements like cover covers and reusable wash covers for the F-35A Lightning II. Thus, the Royal Navy F-35Bs visiting FRCSE may on the very least be merely checked, if not repaired, for any impression from a chronic publicity to saline marine air through the course of CSG25.
A minimum of 3 British F-35Bs have arrived on the Fleet Readiness Centre Southeast (FRCSE) in 🇺🇸Jacksonville, Florida to endure PAIR II corrosion-mitigation work.
The UK doesn’t at the moment have the flexibility to conduct PAIR II-level structural corrosion inspections on F-35.… pic.twitter.com/mcOYfNjo9D
— Navy Lookout (@NavyLookout) December 23, 2025
PAIR II on UK F-35Bs at FRCSE
F-35 common foreman Tim Duncan, throughout VMFA-122’s F-35B depot-level upkeep and restore work at FRCSE in August 2024, defined the PAIR II course of: “A PAIR-II inspection consists of artisans eradicating plenty of panels from the plane and inspecting the substructure. If we discover corrosion current, we are going to take away it, deal with the plane’s floor and reinstall the panels.”
That is finished on the “corrosion velocity line,” as per the most recent press launch, which can “examine the aircrafts’ underlying construction then take away and restore any corrosion to stop additional harm.” The great PAIR II course of includes “corrosion mapping, structural assessments, and part repairs or replacements.”
To attenuate plane downtime, FRCSE artisans optimized the PAIR II course of, decreasing the usual turnaround time “from 180 days to roughly 60 days, considerably enhancing the provision of F-35 plane for operational service.”
Jets, jets and extra jets… 🇬🇧⚡️
The most important variety of UK F-35B Lightning jets ever assembled on both of the #RoyalNavy’s new plane carriers has been deployed to the Mediterranean for a serious allied train with @HMSPWLS.#CSG25
Learn extra: pic.twitter.com/xLaFPTMn7d
— Royal Navy (@RoyalNavy) November 6, 2025
FRCSE’s 60 artisans and help workers on the F-35 workforce have undergone intensive coaching on its superior techniques, together with the Autonomic Logistics Data System (ALIS) and specialised floor coatings. “The FRCSE velocity line is acknowledged throughout the F-35 group for environment friendly and cost-effective corrosion mitigation,” mentioned Capt. Mike Windom, commanding officer of FRCSE. “We’re proud to increase our experience to help our Royal Navy allies, making certain their F-35 plane keep peak mission readiness.”
