Marines Stand Back Up 'Tomcats' as a F-35C Lighting II Squadron - USNI News

A deactivated squadron got new life as Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 311 in a Friday ceremony attended by scores of combat veterans and an F-35C Lightning II jet sporting the “Tomcats” historic squadron logo.

The Marine Corps had deactivated the “Tomcats” – it had flown the AV-8B Harrier attack jet as VMA-311 – in 2020 with plans to transition it into an F-35C squadron as part of the service’s force modernization. Its reactivation paves the way for the squadron to become fully operational with Joint Strike Fighter jets better poised to counter threats from peer adversaries’ advanced aircraft.

“Tomcats” commander, Lt. Col. Michael P. Fisher, and squadron Sgt. Maj. Janet Marrufo unfurled the squadron colors, a colorful pile of streamers pouring from the casing. The activation marks the second F-35C squadron to call Miramar home, joining the “Black Knights” of VMFA-314.