An advanced United States fighter jet has completed trials with a Japanese helicopter carrier undergoing conversion into a light aircraft carrier, it was announced on Thursday.
The Japanese navy, officially known as the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that JS Kaga, one of its two Izumo-class helicopter-carrying destroyers, has successfully completed onboard trials with the F-35B Lightning II stealth aircraft.
Captain Shusaku Takeuchi, commanding officer of the Kaga, said the trials improved Japan-U.S. interoperability and strengthened deterrence and response capabilities, "thereby contributing to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region."
Unlike its two sister variants, the F-35A and the F-35C, the F-35B can land vertically like a helicopter and take off in very short distances according to its manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, allowing it to operate from air-capable ships such as the Izumo-class vessels.
Japan approved new defense program guidelines in 2018 that facilitated the modification of Izumo-class warships—the Kaga and JS Izumo—into the country's first aircraft carriers since World War II, carrying the F-35B.
Tokyo's decision to start the conversion came amid China's expansion of its naval fleet, which is the largest in the world by hull numbers, as well as Beijing's naval activities in the Western Pacific Ocean, including waters around Japan's Southwest Islands.
China has accused Japan of violating its pacifist constitution, which bars the country from having all types of weapons of mass destruction. Tokyo says the modified warships will operate as what it calls "multi-function destroyers."
In Focus
U.S. F-35B Tests with Japanese Warship
A United States F-35B Lightning II fighter jet executes a vertical landing aboard the Japanese navy helicopter destroyer JS Kaga on November 2 off the southern coast of California. The fighter jet can land vertically like a helicopter and take off in very short distances.
Launch Slideshow 3 PHOTOS
The Kaga began developmental tests with the F-35B on October 20, when the U.S. fighter jet landed aboard the warship for the first time off the southern coast of California.
The sea trials leveraged the ship's modifications to conduct fixed-wing aircraft operations, which included painting the flight deck with heat-resistant material that can tolerate the fighter jet's engines, as well as reshaping its bow from a trapezoid to a rectangular shape.
According to Newsweek's weekly update of aircraft carrier movements in the Pacific Ocean, the Izumo left Yokosuka naval base in Japan on November 1 to undergo a major refit as part of its conversion into a light aircraft carrier.
It underwent initial modifications in 2021 and became the first Japanese naval vessel to carry fixed-wing aircraft since World War II when a F-35B landed and launched from it.
The U.S. has the largest aircraft carrier fleet in the world with 11 ships—all powered by nuclear reactors—in service. China ranks second with three operational "flattops," including the first two that have recently conducted the country's first dual aircraft carrier operation.
English (US) ·