On August 7, Japan deployed its first three F-35B Lightning II stealth fighters at the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s Nyutabaru Air Base in Miyazaki prefecture on Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost main island, according to the JASDF.
This is part of Japan’s effort to beef up its presence near disputed islands amid assertive moves by China.
Four aircraft were originally scheduled to be delivered by U.S. pilots, but only three were actually delivered, a spokesperson at the JASDF told Naval News, adding to say the remaining aircraft is unlikely to be deployed anytime soon without providing additional details.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense had originally planned to deploy the first six aircraft at the base during fiscal 2024 that ended March 31, 2025, but delays in upgrading the computer software on board caused the original plan to be pushed back.
The latest plan is to deploy a total of 8 aircraft during this current fiscal 2025 and a total of 42 aircraft in the future eventually, according to the JASDF.
Steady steps are being taken toward converting the two Izumo-class destroyers into light aircraft carriers to operate F-35Bs.
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force is currently modifying its two Izumo-class helicopter carriers – JS Izumo and JS Kaga – into light aircraft carriers to operate F-35B fighter jets, which have short takeoff and vertical landing capabilities. The conversion of Japan’s two largest warships into aircraft carriers is aimed at strengthening deterrence against the Chinese military, which is making aggressive advances into the East and South China Seas and the Pacific Ocean. The Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea are claimed by China, where they are called Diaoyu.
The two Japanese vessels have been modified twice each, taking advantage of the ships’ periodic refit and overhaul programs, which take place every five years.
The Izumo finished its first major modification in June 2021, under which heat-resistant treatment work was carried out on the flight deck using special paint, and emergency lights were installed.
From the fiscal year 2024 to 2027, as part of its second modification, the Izumo is undergoing the conversion of the bow section of its flight deck from a trapezoid into a rectangular shape.
Meanwhile, the Kaga finished its first major modification at the end of March 2024, renovating the bow to a rectangular shape. Part of the ship’s deck also has been made heat-resistant to withstand the heat of aircraft landings.
The second and final modifications, which are expected to be made during Kaga‘s next overhaul starting from the end of fiscal year 2026, include changes to the ship’s interior compartments.
The ministry said the Izumo’s modification is scheduled to be completed in fiscal year 2027, and the Kaga’s in fiscal year 2028.
Notably, the JS Izumo already conducted takeoff and landing tests of the U.S. military’s F-35B in October 2021. Following that, the JS Kaga also conducted takeoff and landing tests of the U.S. military’s F-35B in October 2024.
On August 7, a spokesman at the JMSDF told Naval News that there is some possibility that joint training will also be held for the first time, centering on naval forces of Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom, with the latest British and American carrier-based F35Bs taking off and landing on the Kaga from August 4 to 12, further strengthening security cooperation.
This move came as the United Kingdom’s carrier strike group, led by the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, is making its first port call in Japan from August to September this year, with three ships of the British aircraft carrier strike group, including POW, arriving at the Yokosuka naval base for the first time on August 12.
Tokyo welcomes the port call as a demonstration of the U.K.’s commitment to regional peace and stability amid an increasingly severe and uncertain security environment surrounding Japan, the Japanese defense ministry said in a press release on June 25.
The port call “will also contribute to further strengthening Japan’s security and Japan-U.K. security and defense cooperation,” it added.
So far, no British F-35B has ever landed or taken off from JS Izumo or JS Kaga before. If a British F-35B were to do so from the deck of the JS Kaga, it would send a strong message to the world, especially an aggressive China, that Japan’s relationship with the U.K., which is widely regarded as a “quasi-ally,” is truly being strengthened.
It is noteworthy that the U.S. F-35B, which landed aboard JS Kaga for the first time on October 20, 2024, off the southern coast of California, was piloted by Royal Navy Lt. Cmdr. Nick Baker, a test pilot with the F-35 Patuxent River Integrated Test Force (Pax ITF) in the U.S. state of Maryland.
