Japan’s “Yomiuri Shimbun” reported on Sunday (4) that in order to strengthen the suppression of Chinese Communist influence in the East China Sea, the Japanese government has decided to deploy F35B stealth fighters at the Shindagahara base in Shintomi-cho, Miyazaki Prefecture, which is expected to be operational from 2024, the first time the fighters will be deployed to a Self Defense Force base. The central government will coordinate with the local government on the deployment of the fighter aircraft.
The F35B has both stealth performance, short range and vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. Japanese Defense Ministry sources said the government positioned it as a defense ace for the outlying islands, even in the outlying islands without SDF bases, can also use civilian airports for flexible deployment. After this deployment, the F35B can be trained to take off and land at Mamoru Island, south of the New Tawara base, so that it can be rushed to the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea near Okinawa in case of emergency.
New Tahara base is the largest Japan Air Self-Defense Force base on Kyushu Island, near the Hiroshima Prefectural Maritime Self-Defense Force Kure base and the U.S. Marine Corps Iwakuni base, is currently the base of the Air Force 5th Air Regiment and Flight Education Air Corps, mainly equipped with F15J fighters. Japanese media speculate that the F35B deployed in the new Tahara base, the future will be deployed in Iwakuni base with the U.S. Marine Corps F35B fighters to train together, and at the same time with the Maritime Self-Defense Force Kaga amphibious assault ship converted into an aircraft carrier to train together.
At present, Japan’s active F35A stealth fighters are deployed in the near North Pacific Ocean in Aomori Prefecture Misawa base, the Japanese government in recent years in response to the growth of the Chinese Communist air force and the aging of the domestic fighter fleet, and vigorous procurement of F35 fighters. Last July 9, the U.S. State Department has approved the sale of 105 F35s to Japan in a massive arms sales program, Japan will become the second largest F35-equipped country after the United States, as well as the fourth user of the F35B.
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