As the first batch of Japanese F-35Bs should arrive in country next year, Japan is also planning on setting up new key units and facilities in preparation for their arrival and to support its future carrier operations...
Curtis Lee 03 Oct 2023
Exactly two years ago, a U.S. Marine Corps F-35B conducted the first evertakeoff and landing test on JSIzumo. The event marked the first time since the Imperial Japanese Navy that a fixed wing aircraft took off from a Japanese vessel.
On August 31 2023, the Japanese Ministry of Defense announced its fiscal year 2024 defense budget request with $52.9 billion (7.7 trillion yen), the largest one to date. Earlier budget plans poured necessary funds to modify the two existing “Helicopter Destroyers” of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), JS Izumo (DDH-183) and JS Kaga (DDH-184) into a pair of aircraft carriers as well as purchasing 42 Lockheed Martin F-35B Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) fighters for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF).
With the JS Izumo having already conducted her initial F-35B STOVL testing with the help of USMC in 2021 and the JS Kaga sporting a new bow to optimize F-35B flight operations earlier this year, it is about time for Japan to establish key units and facilities in preparation for the arrival of their first batch of 6 F-35B airframes by the end of 2024.
Temporary F-35B Squadron in Nyutabaru
In the FY2024 budget, the JASDF will set a up a roughly 110-men Temporary F-35B Squadron (臨時F-35B飛行隊) in Nyutabaru Air Base next year under the command of the 5th Air Wing in Miyazaki Prefecture. Although the F-35B would operate from the JMSDF ships in the future, the airframes and personnel are under the JASDF.
The base itself also received funding to construct a new air operations center ($12 million/18 billion yen), a new hangar ($10 million/16 billion yen) and a new supply depot ($6.6 million/10 billion yen) for the F-35B; furthermore, the current command center of the base will also be moved to a new underground bunker to prevent the lost of command and control capability in the event of an attack.
The base was selected with the consideration of rapid fly-in/fly-out with JS Kaga in mind, as its location is literally next to the exit of Seto Inland Sea. JS Kaga‘s homeport is located in Kure Naval Base of Hiroshima, once the ship transits out of the Seto Inland Sea and into the broad Pacific, the F-35B in Nyutabaru can rapidly meet with the ship and head out for deployment. In addition, Nyutabaru is also near another crucial training facility for the Japanese F-35B in the future.
JASDF Mageshima Air Base
About 87 miles (140km) southwest of Nyutabaru Air Base, the Japanese MoD is building an entirely new base on the island of Mageshima.
Originally, the US Navy’s Carrier Air Wing 5 (CVW-5), forward deployed in Japan was looking for a new site for their pilots to conduct Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) qualifications in order to replace the current site in Iwo To (then-Iwo Jima) due to the fact that the distance between Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni (CVW-5’s homeport) and Iwo To FCLP site exceeds 870 miles (1,400km) and there are virtually no divert fields nearby available for the CVW-5 aircrafts to conduct emergency landing when transiting between the two locations. In comparison, the distance between MCAS Iwakuni and Mageshima is only 248 miles (400km) and there are plenty of military and commercial airfields to act as divert fields, making it a perfect site for future FCLP training.
For the Japanese, the Mageshima Air Base will serve as a training facility in peacetime as well as an alternative base of operation during wartime or disaster relief operations. Since January, the Japanese contractors have been working 24/7 to turn this uninhabited island into a facility capable of serving all three branches of JSDF. The construction will last around 4 years, with the first year focusing on building the administration buildings, the two runways and fuel depots. Although the apron would not be ready, the two runways should already be capable of conducting basic takeoff and landing operations in the second year.
Apart from the ordinary airfield facilities, the base will also feature a Simulated F-35B Shipboard Facility, an unprecedented facility for the JSDF. It features a similar flight deck layout of the Izumo class DDH to provide the future JASDF F-35B pilots with a land-based training site to practice STOVL operation before deploying on an actual ship; in addition, the ground crew can also practice spotting and refueling the F-35Bs, a crucial step for the Japanese to regain fixed-wing aviation know-how in the future.
In order to prepare the Mageshima Air Base for early operation, the JASDF will establish a 90-men advance team on the island next year to deal with the air traffic control and administrative work of the base; simultaneously, the JMSDF will also set up a 10-men advance team to coordinate the port operations on the island.
In addition, and as previously reported by Naval News, Japan will cooperate with the Italian Navy on F-35B carrier operations. The chief of the JMSDF, Admiral Ryo Sakai, said this Summer that the service will cooperate with the Italian Navy in the operation of the F-35B aircraft, with an eye on the Italian Navy’s F-35Bs taking off and landing on the JMSDF Izumo-class helicopter carriers in the future.
