WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Navy has decided to assign a squadron of its most advanced fighter jets to an aircraft carrier returning to Japan, the USS George Washington, aiming to counter China's growing capabilities.
A squadron of the F-35C Lightning II will join Carrier Air Wing 5 in Iwakuni, Japan, the navy said on Monday. They will replace the F/A-18 Hornets that have long served as mainstay carrier-based fighters.
