Cmdr. Darin Russell
- The US landed an F-35 stealth fighter on Japan’s new aircraft carrier for the first time.
- US and Japanese forces are integrating the short-takeoff/vertical landing F-35B onto the JS Kaga.
- The Kaga is a destroyer-turned-aircraft carrier and Japan’s first such vessel since World War II.
A US F-35 stealth fighter jet landed aboard Japan’s new destroyer-turned-aircraft carrier for the first time off the coast of California, the US military said, sharing photos of the event.
It’s a major step in integrating the F-35B short-takeoff/vertical landing variant used by the US Marine Corps and the British Royal Navy on its carriers into Japan’s self-defense forces.
The test operation occurred Sunday, with a US F-35 Lightning II aircraft from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two Three (VX-23) at Naval Air Base Patuxent River in Maryland landing on the JS Kaga off San Diego, California.