Marines with 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing begin Exercise Summer Fury 21 with a long-range maritime strike off the coast of Washington. Summer Fury is the largest Marine aviation exercise on the West Coast, and provides 3rd MAW opportunity to improve warfighter readiness in support of a Marine Expeditionary Force maritime campaign.

From July 7 to July 9, 3rd MAW will execute a long-range maritime strike against a simulated enemy naval surface combatant. With the support of the Port of Moses Lake, 3rd MAW will demonstrate its capability to conduct fixed-wing strike operations with F/A-18C Hornets and F-35B Lighting IIs against adversarial naval combatants in a distributed, maritime 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."  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.”

3rd MAW, with a combination of organic aircraft and joint enablers, will conduct Summer Fury 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. From sophisticated communications systems to expeditionary basing to the decisive power of 5th generation platforms, our leading edge tactics and capabilities are honed to a fine edge. Make no mistake about it, 3rd MAW is ready to fight and win- whenever and wherever that fight takes us.”

Summer Fury 21 will continue until July 30, during which 3rd MAW 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.

3rd MAW continues to “Fix, Fly and Fight” as the Marine Corps’ largest aircraft wing, and remains combat-ready, deployable on short notice, and lethal when called into action.