Sea of Japan defense bolstered with F-35A jets at Komatsu base
An F-35A fighter jet deployed at the Komatsu Air Base in Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on April 26 (Mizuki Sato)
A ceremony was held at the Air Self-Defense Force's Komatsu Air Base in Ishikawa Prefecture on April 26 for the deployment of three F-35A stealth fighter jets there.
The F-35A is the latest stealth aircraft manufactured by the United States, and the Komatsu Air Base is considered 'the key to air defense in front of the Sea of Japan' with China, Russia and North Korea in mind.
'As the only combat air wing on the Sea of Japan side, the Komatsu Air Base plays an even greater role,' Masahito Monma, commander of the ASDF's Central Air Defense Force, said at the ceremony.
Before the aircraft deployment to Komatsu earlier in April, only the Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture had F-35A fighters, 39 of them.
To further strengthen air defenses on the Sea of Japan side, eight F-35Bs are scheduled to be deployed at Nyutabaru Air Base in Miyazaki Prefecture by the end of fiscal 2025.
'The deployment in two locations will enhance the air defense capability on the Sea of Japan side,' a senior official of Defense Ministry said.
The Japanese government plans to acquire 105 conventional F-35As and 42 F-35Bs, which can be mounted on large destroyers, aiming for a system with a total of 147 aircraft.
A Defense Ministry official described the F-35 as 'difficult to be detected by an opponent and capable of easily finding the opponent first.'
It also has strong information processing capabilities.
The Komatsu Air Base plans to replace all of its F-15 fighters with F-35As and deploy four additional F-35As by the end of fiscal 2025, bringing the total to seven.
The F-35 'exchanges highly confidential operational information and requires special maintenance facilities,' a senior ASDF official said.
Therefore, the F-35s were first deployed at the Misawa Air Base, where the airfield is managed by the U.S. military and maintenance facilities were already in place.
(This article was written by Mizuki Sato and Daisuke Yajima.)
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