U.S. Aircraft are the First Fighters to Fly from Japanese Carriers Since World War II
The F-35B’s are providing a new capability to convert Japan’s helicopter carriers into bases for strike aircraft:
A pair of Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II stealth aircraft became the first fighters to fly from a Japanese carrier since World War II after landing and taking off from the JS Izumo on Sunday.
News about the successful test of the newly upgraded warship’s ability to support the short-takeoff, vertical-landing jets was tweeted by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force on Tuesday.
The message, which included video footage of the operation, said the JMSDF will continue “to steadily carry out the necessary modifications to the Izumo class to acquire the capability to operate the F-35B.”
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
Nice!
BTW, those interested in Japanese ships of WW2 can get there fill at a nice historical site put up by the authors of “The Shattered Sword”:
http://www.combinedfleet.com/
Details how they were essentially all sunk… Not a lot of pretty pictures (a few of the major ships), so if you’re after that type of thing, you’ll need to look elsewhere
Commie moon will want this capability now.
J6, he’s gonna have to play really nice to Japan before they let ROK Air Force jets land on their carrier…
Insert big grin here.
With some metal plates and a few i-beams, Dok-do could be turned into a pretty convincing, although funny-looking, carrier.
Too bad, the Izumo helicopter carrier currently doesn’t have onboard pilot standby facility or the landing guidance system. J6, SK has already plan to build their own aircraft carriers, larger than Izumo and can carry more F-35s.
Welcome KG! Love your suits!
https://www.kgstores.com/kg/index.jsp
I’m sure the Marines will be okay.
Here’s an interesting comparison, though I believe it is Photoshopped and not accurate sizes:
https://i.insider.com/57b5bd3adb5ce953008b7735