JASDF may be in the market for more F-35s

Program progress, politics, orders, and speculation
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by weasel1962 » 14 Dec 2018, 10:37

Looking at the original order of 42 As with 42 Bs and 63 As in the upcoming order, appears to suggest ~21 per sqn or 7 sqns in total (7x21 = 147).


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by spazsinbad » 14 Dec 2018, 12:37

Do Japanese air forces account for attrition, long term maintenance, replacement or spares or whatever? I have no idea.
Japan Calls For STOVL Fighters, Plan For 42 F-35Bs Reported
13 Dec 2018 Bradley Perrett

"Japan needs STOVL aircraft operated from currently available ships to guard against threats from its Pacific Ocean side of the country, according to a summary of results of the meeting published by the office of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, days before the expected release of a five-year defense acquisition program.

Buying 100 F-35s, including some of the F-35B STOVL version, has been expected in the five-year plan, which will start on April 1, 2019; they would be in addition to a current program for 42 F-35As.

In fact, there will be 42 F-35Bs, the Mainichi newspaper said. They will operate from the helicopter carrier Izumo, which will reportedly be modified for that purpose. Modification of Izumo’s sibling, Kaga, is not mentioned but would surely also occur, to ensure that one ship with F-35Bs was always available....

...Half of the F-35Bs will be bought in fiscal 2019-23, the paper said, implying the other half will come in 2024-28 or later. The other 63 additional Lightnings presumably will be F-35As, designed for long runways; there is no indication of timing for them.

Japan eventually will buy a total of 147 F-35s if these plans go ahead. The 2019-23 acquisition plan is due to be published this month. The Mainichi said it will appear on Dec. 18.

In reporting the outcome of the party meeting, Abe’s office does not spell out what threat from the Pacific side of the Japanese islands would be countered by STOVL fighters operating from ships. But an obvious concern is cruise missile attacks by Chinese H-6K bombers, built by the Xian Aircraft subsidiary of Avic.

The value of operating F-35Bs from short runways on small islands that stretch southwest of Japan’s main territory toward China has also been mentioned. The runways’ proximity to China implies vulnerability to attack, hence the utility of aircraft that can operate from not much concrete....

...The Japanese government reportedly decided on Dec. 11 that Izumo would be modified to operate F-35Bs but would not do so permanently and would not be classed as an aircraft carrier."

Source: http://aviationweek.com/defense/japan-c ... s-reported


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by sferrin » 14 Dec 2018, 12:43

This is what a death spiral looks like right? :twisted:
"There I was. . ."


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by spazsinbad » 14 Dec 2018, 21:51

I don't know if the SCALE is correct - image sent via e-mail - seems credible by sender. IZUMO 14 F-35B Hangarage Idea.
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izumohangar.gif


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by spazsinbad » 18 Dec 2018, 11:39

Japan to buy more U.S.-made stealth jets, radar to counter China, Russia
18 Dec 2018 Tim Kelly

"TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will accelerate spending on advanced stealth fighters, long-range missiles and other equipment over the next five years to support U.S. forces facing China’s military in the Western Pacific, two new government defense papers said....

MORE STEALTH FIGHTERS
Japan plans to buy 45 Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) F-35 stealth fighters, worth about $4 billion, in addition to the 42 jets already on order, according to a separate five-year procurement plan approved on Tuesday. The new planes will include 18 short take off and vertical landing (STOVL) B variants of the F-35 that planners want to deploy on Japanese islands along the edge of the East China Sea....

...The navy’s two large helicopter carriers, the Izumo and Kaga, will be modified for F-35B operations, the paper said. The 248-metre (814 ft) long Izumo-class ships are as big as any of Japan’s aircraft carriers in World War Two. They will need reinforced decks to withstand the heat blast from F-35 engines and could be fitted with ramps to aid short take-offs, two defense ministry officials told Reuters...."

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japa ... SKBN1OH05Z


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by mixelflick » 18 Dec 2018, 16:00

Good God, a hundred more? That's quite a testament to its capabilities.

When your customers get their hands on it and there are follow on orders like this, it speaks volumes...


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by ricnunes » 18 Dec 2018, 16:45

Death Spiral... :mrgreen:
“Active stealth” is what the ignorant nay sayers call EW and pretend like it’s new.


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by XanderCrews » 18 Dec 2018, 21:34

"They're going to Cancel the B any day now."
Choose Crews


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by spazsinbad » 18 Dec 2018, 22:14

Carriers Izumo, Kaga, F-35B future approved https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J37anUsXdMM



Carriers Izumo, Kaga, F-35Bs approved, report https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udQx-v8cGPo

Last edited by spazsinbad on 18 Dec 2018, 22:27, edited 1 time in total.


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by spazsinbad » 18 Dec 2018, 22:24

Japan to have first aircraft carriers since World War II
18 Dec 2018 Brad Lendon and Yoko Wakatsuki

"Tokyo (CNN) — Japan is poised to put its firstaircraft carriers to sea since World War II, refitting its Izumo-class warships to carry US-designed F-35B fighter jets, the government announced Tuesday. In its 10-year Defense Program Guidelines, Tokyo said it will buy 42 of the stealthy F-35Bs

...Japan will also increase its order for F-35A jets, which take off and land on conventional runways, to 105, the government said. Forty-two of those jets are in service or were part of earlier Japanese orders.... The purchases will be spread over 10 years, with 27 of the F-35As and 18 of the F-35Bs to be acquired, as well as the two warships to be refitted, in the first five years…..

...A defensive plan
In announcing the spending plan Tuesday, Japan stressed it is designed to buttress those defenses. The plan realizes the need to drastically strengthen Japan's defense and expand its role while the security environment around the country changes rapidly, the Defense Ministry said. Choosing an expanded F-35 fleet enmeshes the Japanese Self-Defense Force with US and allied militaries around Asia, experts say....

...Wallace said the future could conceivably see US F-35s operating from Japanese ships and/or Japanese F-35s flying off American ones....

...Japanese government officials said all the planes in the new order will be imported."

Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/12/18/asia ... index.html


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by spazsinbad » 19 Dec 2018, 01:29

Japan unveiled new plans for an F-35 aircraft carrier — and it's a Chinese navy killer
19 Dec 2018 Alex Lockie

"...
• China’s navy has formidable air defences and could likely destroy Japanese helicopters and F-15s in battle. But the stealth F-35Bs give the carriers a fifth-generation fighter, the likes of which China has never before seen.

• In the future, Japan could network with the US to relay targeting data from the F-35s to destroyers, which can strike targets as far away as 1,500 miles....

...In the future, Bronk [Justin Bronk, an aerial-combat expert at the Royal United Services Institute] said Japan will most likely leverage the F-35B’s extreme surveillance and recon capabilities to provide weapons-quality target information to other platforms, like Japanese or US warships, which can fire off their own missiles and allow the F-35Bs to stay in stealth mode without opening up the weapons bay...."

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com.au/japa ... vy-2018-12


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by steve2267 » 19 Dec 2018, 02:14

Also from the same article:

Japan unveiled new plans for an F-35 aircraft carrier — and it's a Chinese navy killer
19 Dec 2018 Alex Lockie

...

The F-35, of which Japan wants to become the world’s second-largest buyer, has much of the F-22’s stealth and avionics prowess, but has much shorter range.

...

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com.au/japa ... vy-2018-12


I don’t know what to make of Lockie. He doesn’t strike me as anti-F-35 as Majumbles or Axe... but many of his articles have gems like the above.
Last edited by steve2267 on 19 Dec 2018, 02:27, edited 1 time in total.
Take an F-16, stir in A-7, dollop of F-117, gob of F-22, dash of F/A-18, sprinkle with AV-8B, stir well + bake. Whaddya get? F-35.


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by popcorn » 19 Dec 2018, 02:17

steve2267 wrote:Also from the same article:

Japan unveiled new plans for an F-35 aircraft carrier — and it's a Chinese navy killer
19 Dec 2018 Alex Lockie

...

The F-35, of which Japan wants to become the world’s second-largest buyer, has much of the F-22’s stealth and avionics prowess, but has much shorter range.

...

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com.au/japa ... vy-2018-12

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and attribute this to laziness.
I don’t know what to make of Lockie. He doesn’t strike me as anti-F-35 as Majumbles or Axe... but many of his articles have gems like the above.
"When a fifth-generation fighter meets a fourth-generation fighter—the [latter] dies,”
CSAF Gen. Mark Welsh


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by SpudmanWP » 19 Dec 2018, 03:03

Japan unveiled new plans for an F-35 aircraft carrier — and it's a Chinese navy killer
19 Dec 2018 Alex Lockie

...

The F-35, of which Japan wants to become the world’s second-largest buyer, has much of the F-22’s stealth and avionics prowess, but has much shorter range.

...

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com.au/japa ... vy-2018-12


While the F-35B has a shorter range vs the F-22, the F-35 outranges the F-22 in combat config (ie no external munitions & EFTs).
"The early bird gets the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese."


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by Corsair1963 » 19 Dec 2018, 08:09

Now that Japan has made it official that it will buy the F-35B and modify the Izumo to operate them. I have a few questions.....


1.) Will the F-35B's be operated by the JASDF (Air Force) and/or JMSDF (Navy)?

2.) Will Izumo sister ship Kaga also modify into an Aircraft Carrier?

3.) What about the smaller Hyūga-class? Any discussion about them?

4.) Any time table to the start and completion of the modifications to Izumo and possibly Kaga?


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