Marines with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing at Miramar began the Summer Fury 21 exercise Wednesday with a long-range maritime strike off the coast of Washington state.
Summer Fury is the largest Marine aviation exercise on the West Coast, and provides 3rd MAW an opportunity to improve readiness in support of a future Marine expeditionary campaign.
From July 7 to July 9, 3rd MAW will execute long-range maritime strikes against simulated enemy naval surface combatants using F/A-18C Hornets and F-35B Lighting IIs in a realistic battle environment.
“The Summer Fury long-range strike is an opportunity for 3rd MAW to execute a maritime strike against an enemy surface combatant while being supported by an aerial-delivered forward arming and refueling point,” said Lt. Col. Duncan A. French, 3rd MAW lead operations planner. “The concepts and tasks inherent in this mission are critical to the success of a fight against a peer adversary.”
The exercise will involve flights from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Kirtland Air Force Base, and surrounding key locations along the western United States.
This exercise will showcase the aviation combat power of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing and all its functions,” said Maj. Gen. Christopher J. Mahoney, 3rd MAW commanding general. “You will see expeditionary naval combat power across a wide range of terrain and combat scenarios.”
“Make no mistake about it, 3rd MAW is ready to fight and win — whenever and wherever that fight takes us,” he said.
Summer Fury 21 will continue until July 30, during which squadrons will execute additional missions, including support of advanced naval bases and anti-air warfare, culminating in a missile shoot, all while maintaining a variety of distributed command and control centers.
