The US Navy has landed an F-35B on the Japanese destroyer JS Kaga for the first time, enhancing cooperation and defense interoperability between the two nations.
While the F-35B took off from Maryland, the Kaga departed from Japan in early September, arriving off the southern coast of California, where the test took place last week.
Additional tests are scheduled to continue over the next three weeks.
“We are proud to be part of this joint effort to test the compatibility of the F-35B aboard JS Kaga,” F-35 Pax River Integrated Test Force Team Lead Seth Dion said.
“We are committed to working closely with our allies to achieve our shared goals and strengthen our partnership,” he added.
Military Interoperability
The JS Kaga and JS Izumo, Japan’s largest helicopter carriers, are being modified by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) into light aircraft carriers.
Ahead of the test, the Kaga underwent several upgrades to allow US Marine Corps F-35B jets to take off on short runways and land vertically.
These modifications included applying heat-resistant material to the flight deck, adding lights for nighttime landings, and reshaping the bow of the flight deck from a trapezoid to a rectangle.
In 2020, the US approved the sale of 105 F-35 stealth aircraft to Japan for $23.11 billion.
US-Japan Strategic Ties
JMSDF Captain Shusaku Takeuchi said that the recent test is “strengthening the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-US alliance.”
This, he continued, is also “contributing to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific”
The US and Japan have increased defense cooperation amid potential Chinese threats and rising tensions in the Asia-Pacific region.
During the Keen Edge joint military exercise in February, Tokyo and Washington explicitly labeled China as a hypothetical enemy for the first time.