Roaring off the deck of a 40,000-ton amphibious assault warship, F-35B fighter jets piloted by US Marines soar over the Pacific Ocean near the Japanese island of Okinawa.
It's a show of force by the US military, which is demonstrating its newest -- and most expensive -- weaponry a week before it begins annual war games with South Korea.
The drills, which usually provoke fury from North Korea, will go ahead this year despite heightened sensitivity as diplomats try to organize a summit between the two Koreas, as well as an historic meeting between US President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un.
The fifth-generation F-35B Lightning II jets -- warplanes equipped with stealth technology to avoid radar and detection -- have just started their first maritime deployment on board the USS Wasp, a warship sometimes dubbed a babyaircraft carrier that will take part in the joint exercises starting April 1.
The jets are seen as a major advantage for the United States in any contingencies involving North Korea as they are undetectable by Pyongyang's radar although US government data released in January raised questions as to whether they were ready for combat.
"It really is an historic deployment, bringing this capability of the F-35 and the USS Wasp together to create the most significant increase in our capability the Navy and Marine Corps team has seen in our lifetime," Rear Adm. Brad Cooper told CNN on board the Wasp.
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