The South Korean Ministry of National Defense (MND) has decided in August to double its fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets. A total of forty additional "Joint Strike Fighters" will be procured, including 20 F-35B short take off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant for its light aircraft carrier project known as LPX-II.

The Italian Navy's Cavour aircraft carrier left the Arsenale Militare Marittimo (Maritime Military Arsenal) of Taranto after completing a 16 months refit and upgrade period to operate F-35B Joint Strike Fighters.

Tension are deescalating in mid-May 2020 in the South China Sea with the withdraw of Chinese and Malaysian ships over a maritime dispute regarding oceanic mineral and oil reserves claimed by Malaysia, China, and Vietnam. The U.S. Navy responded by sending warships in late April: the USS America (LHA-6) and its escorts USS Bunker Hill (CG-52) and USS Barry (DDG-52).

British F-35B Lightning jets have flown from the decks of HMS Queen Elizabeth in UK waters, the first time fighter jets have operated from a British carrier in home waters in a decade.

HMS Queen Elizabeth has sailed from her home port of Portsmouth on January 24, 2020 to conduct flight trials with UK F-35 Lightning jets in UK waters.

Japan's Ministry of Defense (MoD) has announced in its FY2020 defense budget that it will invest 3.1 billion yen (approximately US $ 28.3 million) to refurbish the destroyer Izumo which is the largest vessel in Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF).

When more than a dozen F-35B Lightning IIs thundered across the skies of the Eastern Pacific and touched down on the USS America on Oct. 8, 2019, it signaled the birth of the most lethal, aviation-capable amphibious assault ship to date.