Japan has received three F-35 Lightning II aircraft from the US at the Komatsu Air Base in Ishikawa.
The F-35 jets are fitted with the new TR-3 avionics hardware, consisting of a new display, core processor, and memory modules for faster processing power.
Preparations for their integration into the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) included interoperability exercises with Italy and the US last year, with Tokyo deploying the Izumo-class destroyer JS Kaga (DDH-184) to the western coast of the US for additional drills.
The delivery of the jets is part of Washington’s F-35 Lightning II Joint Program to boost the JASDF and other allied air forces’ operability in increasingly complex environments with fifth-generation capabilities.
“The security environment around the Indo-Pacific is becoming more dynamic and unstable, and the significant refinement and enhancement of our air power is an urgent requirement for Japan,” said JASDF F-35 Program liaison officer lieutenant colonel Ogino Masaki.
Japan’s F-35 Fleet
Washington approved the sale of the F-35 jets to Japan back in 2020, with a $23.11-billion deal signed in response to the rapid modernization of the Chinese military.
The package listed the sale of 63 of the traditional F-35A variant and 42 of the F-35B short-takeoff and vertical-landing version.
The F-35A variant has a maximum speed of Mach 1.6 (1,228 miles/1,976 kilometers per hour), with a service ceiling of 50,000 feet (15,240 meters).
Its air-to-surface missile configuration has a combat range of 770 miles (1,240 kilometers) and can extend up to 870 miles (1,410 kilometers) in air-to-air settings.
