Japan’s First F-35’s to Deploy to Kyushu Next Month
Japan’s defense build up continues:
Japan will deploy its first F-35B Lightning II stealth fighters in the southern part of the country next month, part of efforts to bolster defenses in the Nansei Islands, according to the Ministry of Defense. Four of the short-takeoff, vertical-landing aircraft will arrive Aug. 7 at the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s Nyutabaru Air Base in Miyazaki prefecture on Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost main island, according to a schedule released Friday by the ministry.
The Nansei islands, also known as the Ryukyus, stretch from Kyushu to within 70 miles of Taiwan. They form a key link in the so-called first island chain, a strategic barrier for China’s navy in the event of a conflict. The F-35Bs will be flown from the United States by U.S. pilots, a spokesman with Japan’s Air Staff said by phone Monday, without providing additional details.
You can read more at the link, but the basing of F-35’s in Kyushu along with the Type-12 missiles shows how Japan’s is fortifying its southern islands in preparation for any Chinese aggression in the region.
