F-35B Deliveries For Japan Delayed

JAPAN will be experience delays in the planned delivery of its first six F-35B Lightning II fighters, according to announcements by the country’s defence minister Gen Nakatani.

The minister announced that the delivery date for the six airframes had been pushed back to later in the year. Initially, the jets were scheduled to be delivered to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) and deployed at Nyutabaru Air Base by end of March 2025. The base will house a temporary F-35B squadron to accommodate the new aircraft.

He added, “I understand that there will not be a major impact from this delivery delay, but in any case, in order to minimize the impact, we will continue to work with the U.S. side toward deployment and steadily advance the work to accept the deployment of the temporary F-35B squadron that will be established this fiscal year.” 

Manufactured by Lockheed Martin, the F-35B is the Short Take Off and Vertical Landing (VTOL) variant of the aircraft. Japan will likely operate the aircraft from its pair of Izumo-class destroyers which have been undergoing conversions to facilitate the aircraft operations. Recently, a US Marine Corps (USMC) F-35B successfully landed for the first time on the JS Kaga during operational tests. The lead ship, JS Izumo is expected to begin F-35B operations in 2027 while the Kaga will follow suit in 2028.-shp/adj/dl (Pix:USN)