An F-35B fighter jet landed on the JS Kaga, marking the first time a Japanese warship has received this aircraft since its conversion into an aircraft carrier.
"An F-35B from the U.S. Marine Corps’ Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 landed on the multi-purpose destroyer JS Kaga off the coast of California on October 20. The F-35B and the U.S. Navy test team are participating in the evaluation and certification of modifications on Japan’s largest warship," the U.S. Navy reported.
Photos show the F-35B approaching from the rear left of the ship, transitioning to vertical landing mode, and safely touching down on the deck. The JS Kaga is one of two ships in the Izumo class, the largest type of warship in Japan’s fleet.
Izumo-class warships feature a long flight deck, aircraft elevators, a tower superstructure, and a large aircraft hangar inside the hull, making them similar to the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carriers. However, Japan officially classifies them as helicopter destroyers.
In 2019, Japan’s Ministry of Defense launched a project to convert the two Izumo-class warships into light aircraft carriers, with a total cost of approximately $4 billion, representing 5% of Japan’s defense budget at the time.
The deck has been upgraded with heat-resistant materials to withstand the exhaust from the F-35B’s vertical landing, along with improvements to lighting and landing markings. The deck has also been expanded to increase takeoff distance, allowing planes to carry more weapons and fuel. The internal hangar has been modified to accommodate additional fuel and weapons storage for the F-35B. The JS Kaga’s conversion was completed in April, and it has been in California since September to conduct trials, ensuring it can integrate F-35B fighters into its operations. The results from these tests will pave the way for the conversion of the JS Izumo.
The plan to convert the Izumo-class ships into F-35B-capable carriers sparked controversy. Some argued that this violated Japan’s post-World War II constitution, which restricts the country from having offensive military capabilities like aircraft carriers.
Japanese defense officials in 2019 clarified that Japan does not intend to turn the Izumo-class ships into large-scale carriers like those of the U.S. Instead, the F-35Bs will primarily be stationed on land and not permanently deployed on the carriers.
(According to BI, AP, AFP)
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