Written by Mari Yamaguchi
Tokyo (AP)As tensions in the region increase, Japan’s newest step to strengthen defenses is the arrival of its first three F-35B stealth fighter fighters at an air base in the south of the country on Thursday.
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Three of the four F-35Bs slated for deployment at the Nyutabaru Air Base in the Miyazaki prefecture are the new arrivals. According to the Air Self-Defense Force, the fourth jet will arrive later.
The Izumo and Kaga, two Japanese helicopter carriers that were converted to carry the F-35B, will serve as the bases for the fighters, which have vertical landing capabilities and short takeoff.
According to the Defense Ministry, Nyutabaru will receive four additional F-35Bs by the end of March 2026.
Japan has increased its military presence on isolated islands in the southwest because it views China as a regional danger.
In a separate incident on Thursday, an F-2A single-seater fighter plane went down in the Pacific off the eastern coast of Japan while on a training flight. The ASDF reports that the pilot was saved alive after he ejected himself in an emergency. It stated that the aircraft’s training flights have been halted for safety inspections.
A runway for F-35B flying exercises is presently being built by Japan on a new air facility on the island of Mageshima, 100 miles south of the Nyutabaru base. However, because of building delays, the drills will have to be held at Nyutabaru until roughly 2030, which has led to concerns from locals who are worried about aircraft noise.
Japan will become the largest F-35 user outside of the United States with the deployment of 42 Lockheed Martin F-35Bs and 105 conventional take-off and landing, or CTOL, F-35As.
