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First photos of F-35s deployed to Puerto Rico
Taken on Sep. 13, 2025 the interesting photos in this post are the first official pictures featuring Marine Fighter Attach Squadron 225 (VMFA-225) F-35B Lightning II strike fighters after landing at the former Roosevelt Roads military base in Ceiba, Puerto Rico.
US military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the USSOUTHCOM mission, Department of War-directed operations, and the president’s priorities.
Noteworthy, F-35s were deployed to Puerto Rico after President Donald Trump ordered the stealth fighters to join a military buildup in the Caribbean to counter drug cartels amid rising tensions with Venezuela.
US helicopters and Osprey tiltrotor aircraft as well as other US transport aircraft and military personnel have been deployed to the base too.
Asked about the aircraft, a Pentagon duty press officer said: “We have no force posture changes to announce currently.”
Sources told Reuters last month that the Trump administration ordered the deployment of 10 F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico to conduct operations against drug cartels.
Trump said while announcing the plan last month to send more aircraft to the region that the US was not talking about regime change in Venezuela.
In the first known operation since the Trump administration’s recent deployment of warships to the southern Caribbean, 11 people were killed last month by US military in a strike on a vessel from Venezuela allegedly carrying illegal narcotics.
None of the 11 people killed were drug traffickers according to Venezuela.
VMFA-225
In September the Venezuelan government said that a US destroyer intercepted, boarded and occupied a Venezuelan tuna fishing vessel for eight hours in the South American country’s Special Economic Zone.
It said the vessel was boarded in an illegal and hostile manner, and that it was crewed by nine “humble” fishermen and was “harmless.”
VMFA-225 Vikings’ mission is to attack and destroy surface targets, intercept and destroy enemy aircraft, provide electronic warfare support, and network enabled reconnaissance support across the full spectrum of combat operations.
The unit flew its last F/A-18D Hornet flight on Jan. 23, 2020 and stand ready to commence F-35B operations in 2021.
In March 2024, VMFA-225 deployed for the first time as an F-35B squadron, sending a detachment to MCAS Iwakuni and in July 2024, the remainder of the squadron embarked on the USS BOXER (LHD-4) as the Fixed Wing Aviation Combat Element for the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s 24.1 Western Pacific deployment to INDOPACOM. The Vikings returned to Yuma in November of 2024 after successfully completing several joint and partner nation exercises, as well as validating the first ever F-35B distributed spoke operations in theater as part of a Marine Expeditionary Unit.
F-35B
The F-35B is the first-ever supersonic, radar-evading stealth aircraft with short takeoff/ vertical landing (STOVL) capability, giving it the unique capability to operate from a variety of ships, roads and austere bases near frontline combat zones.
STOVL operation is made possible through a patented shaft-driven LiftFan propulsion system. This propulsion approach overcomes many of the temperature, velocity and power challenges of direct-lift systems.
The F-35B is operated by the United States Marine Corps, the United Kingdom Royal Air Force and the Italian Air Force. The growing community of F-35 nations enhances shared global deterrence through interoperability and collaboration.
Photo credit: Senior Airman Katelynn Jackson
