SAN DIEGO — “This jet is made for that high-end fight,” said F-35 fighter pilot Major Mark Dion. “It really gives you a lot of situational awareness."
The F-35C is a top-of-the-line fighter jet, and about 60 of them are stationed at MCAS Miramar.
“The mission systems we have with the radars and the antennas on the wings,” said Major Dion. “The more information you have, the better decisions you can make, and the more lethal you can be out on the battlefield.”
Major Mark Dion, a fighter pilot with the VMFA-314 Black Knights, recently returned from 3 weeks of training exercises off our San Diego coast aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln.
They’re getting ready for an operational deployment early next year, and after 3 years of hard work, this past month their squadron declared (F.O.C.) full operational capability.
“We are ready to execute combat operations,” said Major Dion.
Major Dion said the F-35C is capable of supersonic speeds of 1.5+ mach, and up to 700 knots.
“Very fast jet, very clean,” said Major Dion. “There is not a lot of stuff hanging off of it, which allows us to maintain that speed for a longer amount of time.
Breaking the sound barrier can create a sonic boom that can be heard for miles. Major Dion said this happens nearly every day during training over the ocean, but in the rare event it’s heard over land, he described it as “kind of a loud boom,” which could “potentially shake some windows.”
In early June, social media was buzzing when a boom was heard one evening. Some thought it was an earthquake and others suggested it could be a sonic boom. We asked Major Dion if it could’ve been one of these high-tech aircraft breaking the sound barrier.
“Hard to say on that,” said Major Dion. “We break the sound barrier every day out over the water so what I would attribute that to is just the environmentals. A clear night and depending on the temperature, that is probably why they heard that.”
Hearing a sonic boom should be a rare occurrence for San Diegans given that their high-speed training is conducted off the coast.
“It turns out jets and airplanes are pretty loud,” chuckled Major Dion. “The studies I’ve seen is that it is very similar to the F-18, not a huge difference at all there.”
Traveling at supersonic speeds is exhilarating and Major Dion feels fortunate to fly the elite F-35C Lightning.
“It feels amazing,” said Major Dion with a grin. “Up to seven and a half G’s. It’s fairly taxing on the body when you’re pulling that many G’s, but it can’t be beat. It’s great.”
WATCH RELATED: High-tech plane taking off from MCAS Miramar (Jan. 2020)