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US F-35B conducts first landing on Kaga

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JAPAN’S Ministry of Defense (MOD) and the United States Department of Defense (DOD) announced that a US Navy (USN) Lockheed Martin F-35B fighter landed successfully on the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s (JMSDF) Izumo-class helicopter destroyer JS Kaga for the first time.

According to the release, the F-35B from the USN Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two Three (VX-23), Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River flown by a British Royal Navy (RN) test pilot landed aboard the Kaga on October 21 off the coast of southern California. A test team from the F-35 Pax River Integrated Test Force (Pax ITF) comprising test pilots, aircraft maintainers, flight test engineers, flight test control engineers, flight crew, USN and US Marine Corps (USMC), Royal Air Force (RAF) personnel as well as the private sector including BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman were embarked on the ship.

The JMSDF announced last month that around three weeks of operational tests involving the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B would be carried out aboard the Kaga near San Diego, California. In addition, the pilots also carried out short takeoffs from the ship.

Kaga’s commanding officer, Captain Shusaku Takeuchi said, “this test is essential for strengthening Japan’s defence capabilities and is of utmost importance. We will do our best to achieve good test results together with the ITF. This test does not merely enhance the capabilities of the JMSDF, it also improves the interoperability between Japan and the US, strengthening the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-US alliance, thereby contributing to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region”.

Reports indicated that modifications made to the Kaga include a heat-resistant paint coating on the flight deck to withstand the heat from the F-35B vectored-thrust engines, guidance lights for night flying operations and the reconfigured bow section of the flight deck from a trapezoidal shape into a square shape.

The first major modification to the Kaga was completed this March while the lead ship Izumo is reported to be undergoing the conversion of its flight deck this year and scheduled for completion by the 2027 fiscal year.

Japan ordered 105 F-35As and 42 F-35Bs, though it has not received US-made F-35Bs to date, the first is expected to arrive by March 2025.-shp/adj/dl (Pix:JMSDF, USN)