A British F-35 pilot, Lieutenant Commander Baker, recently made history by landing on a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) platform, marking the first time an F-35 operated by a UK pilot has touched down on a Japanese vessel.
This milestone landing was conducted as part of Lt. Cmdr Baker’s role with the U.S. Patuxent River Integrated Test Force.
The landing comes amid Japan’s ongoing efforts to integrate the F-35B stealth fighter into its naval capabilities. Japan has modified its Izumo-class helicopter carriers to support the F-35B, the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) variant, as it works to expand its maritime air power in the region.
Earlier this year, Japanese military officers observed F-35B operations onboard the British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, as Japan prepares for similar tests on its own vessels in the coming year.
HMS Prince of Wales recently completed extensive F-35 trials along the U.S. East Coast, which included nearly 150 short takeoffs, multiple vertical landings, and close to 60 shipborne rolling vertical landings during the Developmental Test Phase 3 (DT-3).
“The test points achieved will not only improve UK F-35B operations, but those of our F-35B program partners and allies as well,” noted Captain Richard Hewitt, commanding officer of HMS Prince of Wales, highlighting the broader benefits of these trials for F-35-operating nations.
Japan, which is acquiring a mixed fleet of 147 F-35A and F-35B jets, is now the largest international customer of the F-35. Lockheed Martin, the jet’s manufacturer, commented on the strategic value of this partnership, stating, “The growing synergy among F-35 operators is boosting allied deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, where Japan is acquiring more F-35s than any other international customer.”
Royal Navy Lt. Commander Roderick Royce, who hosted the Japanese delegation’s visit to HMS Prince of Wales, expressed optimism, in a mews release at the time, for future collaboration. “Hopefully it is the first of many such engagements which might one day lead to full interoperability between our respective carrier strike groups,” he said, envisioning a possible scenario in which a Japanese F-35B could one day land on a UK carrier.
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Several points of interest in the article.
Yes, the Bedford array is required for SVRL.
QE may have had hers installed during the prop shaft coupling docking. It was used as an opportunity to do other works.
Very little information has been released about that capability insertion period. Given the level of war mongering going on I don’t expect that we will be getting much other than stating the obvious that you could see with binos from a hotel room overlooking!
That said I think you’d see the Bedford array with visual observation if you knew what you were looking for. But you’d need to know what to look for as it doesn’t have a big physical footprint.
I thought that the SVRL procedure was carried out on HMS QE, not in a trials sense but did happen early on in it’s tasks without the Bedford Array ?.
I agree. Good points that make sense. I do hope Labour are not going to use the excuse of yet another Defence Review ‘to cut’ when we are in extreme danger from Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and various terrorist factions.
Remember why UK opted F35 so early in its development. The commitment in the 1998 defence review to expeditionary capability meant new carriers. To allow for a surge of sortie rates to US carrier levels and give the ability to operate aircraft not only from carriers but improvised austere runways, a STOVL successor to Harrier was needed. The plan was a one for one replacement for the joint force Harrier fleet@138. A logical and seemingly low risk approach, rather spoilt by LMs failure to deliver the affordable successor envisaged. For no compelling reason, Cameron wanted a switch to CATOBAR but found the costs of carrier conversion too high. Had we switched to F35C, the flexibility of the original plan would have been lost.
The capacities of both the Japanese and Italian carriers are more modest than the QEs, hence their smaller orders for F35B.
Had things gone to original plan, UK would now have @138 STOVL aircraft giving us by some margin the second most capable carrier force in the world.
Are you suggesting that the original plan was to order all 138 F-35Bs in a single huge order?
Surely the glacial build rate would mean we would not have all 138 by now.
You do have to remember that other f35b navies don’t have 70,000 ton carriers to fill so those nations have ordered mainly f35A for their airforce with a handful f35b to allow a modest max effort air wing or say 10 F35Bs for their 20-30,000 ton carriers and amphibious vessels.. The RN carriers max airwing is three squadrons on each carrier. This means over the life of the carriers we will need probably all of those 130+ F35s as f35Bs for a max airwing for just one of the carriers.
you mentioned 6 squadrons of F35B and 6 squadrons of F35A, you would need to purchase around 400 aircraft to maintain 12 front line squadrons over 40 years… the 130 we are planning to have will allow a total of 4 front line squadrons at best over the life of the carriers. If we went half and half that meant we would never have more than 2 f35b squadrons….cost wise, the A and Bs are for the purpose of training and logistsic pipelines two completely different aircraft, which means increased ongoing/lifetime costs.
personally I would like to see a build up to four f35b squadrons lasting over the life of the carriers ( which would require the entire 130+ buy over the life of the program). As well as a move to 8 typhoon squadrons, which would require a modest purchase of extra typhoons ( there are actually a number of low airframe hours mid tranche typhoons on the market. That could be purchased cheap).
Your last bit on the Typhoons is sounds so sensible and affordable you’ll wonder if it’ll ever get taken up? What with next to no GBAD, low levels of Shorad, smallish F35B fleet any extra current airframes would be good to have available to protect the UK and Europe airspace soon as and upgrade with the new radars.
To be brutally honest the RAF didn’t have a choice with turning the Typhoon in to a multi-role aircraft. The reason was the Tornado GR4 fleet was fecked. Which had pretty much used up its allotted airframe hours on top of an expensive extension. There was no funding for a further extension, that would require the jets going back to BAe for reconditioning. This was due to the constant use on operations and “peacetime” training. Compare this with the Italian and German Tornados, that had used up about half their non-extended airframe hours, when ours were decommissioned.
What made this doubly worse is that a few years prior to Tornado going out of service, they scrapped the Harrier GR7/9s. Which still had plenty of airframe hours left. Which in essence meant that the RAF’s front line jet force was reduced by 2/3 compared to when both Harrier and Tornado were in service.
Thankfully we are now slowly but surely building up the F35 numbers. Which will do a large chunk of what the Tornado was expected to do. Though that’s offset by the Tranche 1 Typhoons not being replaced, which are soon to be scrapped.
We could very easily have a split force of F35As and Bs. Tornado being a prime example, when we had F3s and GR4s along with GR1s waiting to be upgraded. The only real reason why we don’t is money. By only going with one variant, it saves a lot of money, especially when you can focus on one engine type rather than two. I’m lretty certain that if the RAF were given the choice they’d rather have the A variant. Though the B does mean you’re not tied to a mile long runway.
Sortie generation and turn-around times are key to carrier operations, For example how quickly can you refuel the jet, with a quick service, change the weapons configuration, change the pilot. Then get it prepped for take-off? They would have practiced this a lot on dry land. Especially when deployed to Poland and the Baltics. Doing this aboard the carrier is while different ball game. I’m certain that this is what they have been recently practicing during Ex Strike Warrior.
@George is a mews release given by the ship’s cat?
No, it’s when aircraft maintenance has been completed so that they are serviceable and are released from the mews buildings..
Mm. Japanese strike aircraft, HMS Prince of Wales. What could possibly go wrong?
Now that rings a bell, give me a minute, I’m sure the torpedo will drop soon….
I wonder when the last FAA pilot ‘lined up’ on a Japanese warship🤔🤔.
All joking aside, I hope we see far more cross deck training with the Italian and Japanese Carriers in the future.
It makes a lot of sense, by example, that the UK F35B force become well equated with the Italian Carrier, in an emergency, we could rapidly deploy a number of jets directly to her deck to reinforce a NATO Mediterranean operation.
Indeed you can forward position a carrier and then fly the frames out to it. Or use a carrier that happens to be where you need it without waiting weeks to get one in theatre.
However, the have a fraction of the capability of QEC as F35B is really big and you won’t get that many on board before the game of Tetris starts to dominate the logistical shuffle.
“fly the frames” ????
airframes or aircraft
PS: Don’t be stealing Xmas..
Yes it’s important to remember that really the max load for the Italian carriers is only 1 squadron of F35Bs and that’s snug and reduces the rotor to only around 3…standard airwing is only 10 f35b airframes. When Spain moves over its carrier will probably only be able to take a flight of around 4-6, the Japanese izumo class will probably only hold a max of 1 12 jet squadron as well. Even the big US amphibious vessels will as a normal airwing only have 6 F35Bs and a max of 20. The UK carriers are really a class above every other f35b carrier and as such the whole Uk f35 focus needs to be on the Bs.
Cavour went to Pacific with 8 F-35 and 7 Harrier and 3 NH90 so i would say 12 should be possible.
yes one squadron of 12 at max, normal 10.
Correct💯
Although there’s a long history of Japanese aircraft ‘landing’ on the deck of RN carriers…
Excuse my ignorance but can a F35B land on any carrier, meaning US, Italian or Japanese?
It can land on any ship with the correct heat proof treatments to the deck.
So yes UK F35B could potentially land on Italian, Japanese, USMC or even the big USN flat tops some of which already have water cooled deck patches for static engine tests.
They can land on any flat space big enough. Decks don’t actually melt without the treatments but continuous use will degrade them.
In reality they Could probably land on any flat deck that was the correct size…the issue would be damage to the deck and ability to take off again….after all a harrier once got lost and parked itself on a random merchant vessel it came across…before taking the slow boat home.
Granted, a F-35B could land on a CVN in an emergency, however, that is significantly different than the capability to sustain F-35B operations in a wartime scenario. As you are no doubt aware, maintenance issues would become formidable.
I think landing on any carrier is quite possible. Taking off again though is a different matter. Refueling would be possible if required but there may be no options to re arm if it has not being preplanned.
I think working with Italy to plan cross deck working would make sense and I would hope that it happens.
However the most important alternative place for our F35B`s to land is on small hard to find areas away from main airfields. That’s why think the UK has made the right decision to go for all its F35B to be the B variant.
We are looking at developing an aircraft to match or be better than the F35A which would operate for many years alongside the F35B
Depends on what you mean by rearming? If it’s a like for line load out using U.K. weapons. Then I agree it’s probably not going to happen. However, the F35s mission computer will have all the weapons parameters that have been integrated with the program loaded into it. So in essence a U.K. F35B could land on a US carrier and be armed with AMRAAM, Sidewinder and SDB etc. The only downside is that the pilot is unlikely to have spent many hours getting to know the peculiarities of these weapons other than during Sim training.
Hopefully with CSG25 HMS POW will get to train with the JMSDF,i’d expect some Cross Decking action.
Please, nice Japanese Captain, can we have our jet back. We haven’t got many to play with.
It wasn’t British, it belonged to VX-23 / USN.
Fly Navy!
This is why the mrss should be through deck. It gives us flexibility and adaptability with f35 and drones in the future
Why have you spelt Defence as Defense George. Have you just cut and pasted an American article?