A Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II lands aboard the JS Kaga, a Japanese helicopter carrier, off Southern California, Oct. 20, 2024. (Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force)
A U.S. fifth-generation fighter jet landed on a Japanese helicopter destroyer this week, bringing Japan one step closer to taking its own advanced stealth fighters to sea.
An F-35B Lightning II landed Sunday aboard the helicopter destroyer JS Kaga off San Diego’s coast, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force announced Monday on social platform X.
The Kaga, an 814-foot-long flat deck carrier designed for helicopters, was modified to also carry the F-35B multirole fighters.
The flight deck was strengthened to withstand the heat of the fighter’s engines during short takeoffs and vertical landings. The ship’s bow was modified to reduce turbulence and extend the flight deck. The modified vessel went to sea for trials in November.
The landing was part of an ongoing 45-day trial of the Kaga’s modifications led by the U.S. Navy’s Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23, Naval Air System Command’s largest flight-test squadron, a Maritime Self-Defense Force spokesman told Stars and Stripes by phone Tuesday.
Royal Navy Lt. Cmdr. Nick Baker, a test pilot with the F-35 Patuxent River Integrated Test Force, made the landing around 3:15 p.m. with a specially equipped F-35B, according to a test force news release Monday.
“This test is essential for strengthening Japan’s defense capabilities and is of utmost importance,” the Kaga’s skipper, Capt. Shusaku Takeuchi, said in the release. “We will do our best to achieve good test results together with the ITF.”
A Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II lands aboard the JS Kaga, a Japanese helicopter carrier, off Southern California, Oct. 20, 2024. (Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force)
The integrated test force, which is working with the evaluation squadron on the Kaga’s trials, includes maintenance specialists, flight test engineers, flight deck crews, logistics specialists and other personnel from the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, according to the release.
“We are proud to be part of this joint effort to test the compatibility of F-35B aboard JS Kaga,” Seth Dion, the test force’s team leader, said in the release. “Our team has prepared meticulously for this mission, and we are committed to working closely with our allies to achieve our shared goals and strengthen our partnership.”
Additional tests are scheduled to determine if the ship has adequate maintenance space and whether the fighters can be adequately secured and maneuvered through Kaga’s hangar bay, the Maritime Self-Defense Force spokesman said.
Some Japanese government spokespeople may speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.
Testing on the Kaga began Oct. 5 and is expected to conclude Nov. 18.
Kaga’s sister ship, the JS Izumo, underwent similar retrofits in 2021.
Both Japanese ships still require another round of modifications, a Maritime Self-Defense Force spokesman told Stars and Stripes in April. The Izumo’s final phase is scheduled to begin this fiscal year, and the Kaga’s will begin after the Izumo is complete.
Japan’s Defense Ministry in 2011 selected the F-35 as its next-generation aircraft, according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin’s website.
Since then, Japan has purchased 42 F-35Bs, with delivery of the first six expected at the Air Self-Defense Force’s Nyutabaru Base by March 31, the Japan Times reported April 9.
Japan views the ability to use the jets at sea as “necessary in order to be fully prepared to protect Japan’s seas and skies, including the vast Pacific Ocean, while ensuring safety of the self-defense forces personnel,” according to a 2022 white paper.
