Watch: CH-53K King Stallion Carries F-35 Lightning II While Being Refueled From KC-130

Watch: CH-53K King Stallion Carries F-35 Lightning II While Being Refueled From KC-130

• Largest US military helicopter can carry F-35 jets while in-air refueling, flown with inoperative jet for evaluation.
• Operation evaluated King Stallion’s load capacity and included complex refueling.
• King Stallions are used by Marines to transport heavy payloads, including fighter jets.

Ever wondered if a helicopter could carry a fighter jet? Well, it turns out that not only can the largest helicopters carry F-35 jets, but they can do so without in-air refueling. On 24 April 2024, the Marines demonstrated the King Stallion’s impressive capabilities and transported a stripped-down F-35C and refueling at the same time. The Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion is the largest and heaviest helicopter in the US military (although the biggest of the world’s heaviest lift helicopters is the Soviet Mil Mi-26). The King Stallion and F-35C represent two of the most expensive and capable aircraft in Marine Corps service.

CH-53K King Stallion carries F-35C while refueling

A video emerged of a CH-53K King Stallion carrying an inoperative F-35C CF-1 (the aircraft-carrier variant of the F-35) and refueling from a KC-130T during the flight. According to the official Marines website, the helicopter was from the Marine Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 (VMX-1). It transported the F-35 from the Integrated Test Force at Patuxent River to a Navy unit at the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey. The fighter jet had its engine and other systems removed so it was just the airframe being transported (it would have weighed around 22,000 lbs).

“A Marine aviator from Marine Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 (VMX-1) piloted the most powerful helicopter in the Department of Defense that carried the inoperable airframe, which was without mission and propulsion systems, outer wings, or additional equipment, to the Prototype, Manufacturing and Test (PMT) Department of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Lakehurst for use in future emergency recovery systems testing.” – Marines

The operation’s main objective was to evaluate the load capacity and capabilities of the King Stallion. This was taken a step further by including the mid-air refueling, which made it a complex and dangerous maneuver. King Stallions are used by the Marines to transport heavy payloads – including damaged or inoperable equipment

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The US’s heaviest helicopter

Lockheed Martin states the CH-53K helicopter has been designed and built to the ‘exacting standards’ of the Marine Corps and enables troops and equipment to be transported from ship to shore – apparently, equipment also includes fighter jets. The King Stallion is an evolution of the CH-53 series of helicopters (which have been in service since 1966). The US Marine Corps remains the sole user of the King Stallion – although Israel has also ordered them and expects to start receiving them in 2026. Costing around $97 million each, the King Stallions may be the most expensive helicopter in the world.

According to the Eurasian Times, the first King Stallions were delivered to the Marine Corps in 2018. However, the program has faced delays. While they declared initial operational capability in 2022, the Marines do not plan actually to deploy them on amphibious assault ships until 2026. The Marines plan to purchase a total of 200 Stallion King helicopters.