USMC F-35B Aircraft Tested aboard Japan’s Helicopter Carrier JS Izumo

USMC F-35B Aircraft Tested aboard Japan’s Helicopter Carrier JS Izumo
A USMC F-35B Aircraft takes off from Japan’s Helicopter Carrier JS Izumo. JMSDF picture.
A United States Marine Corps (USMC) F-35B short take off vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft was tested for the first time aboard JS Izumo, a helicopter carrier (local designation: helicopter destroyer) of the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF).
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The event marked the first time  since the Imperial Japanese Navy that a fixed wing aircraft took off from a Japanese vessel.

3 OCT, the JMSDF conducted verification of takeoff and landing of the USMC F-35B to JS IZUMO. The JMSDF continues to steadily carry out the necessary modifications to the IZUMO class to acquire the capability to operate the F-35Bs.



JMSDF Statement on Twitter

Our colleagues form USNI News reported in early September that U.S. Marine F-35B Lighting II Joint Strike Fighters will operate off a Japanese warship later this year, quoting Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger:

“We’re not going to go on deployment but we’re actually going to fly U.S. Marine Corps F-35s off of a Japanese ship,”

Naval News previously reported that the first phase of the modification work to operate F-35B was completed this Summer. The modifications included new deck markings and heat-resistant coatings:

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