F-35B Delivery to Japan to Be Postponed to April or After

Tokyo, Jan. 10 (Jiji Press)--The delivery of F-35B stealth fighter jets by the United States to an Air Self-Defense Force base in southwestern Japan will be delayed to April or after, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said Friday.

A new schedule for the delivery to the ASDF’s Nyutabaru base in Miyazaki Prefecture is under consideration. The original plan was for the jets to arrive by the end of March.

Capable of short takeoff and vertical landing, the F-35B is expected to boost Japanese response capabilities for the defense of the Nansei southwestern island chain.

The Defense Ministry plans to procure 42 units eventually. Some of the jets are expected to be operated from the Izumo and Kaga destroyers after the vessels are remodeled into de facto aircraft carriers.

A temporary flight team for the jets will be established at the base at the end of this fiscal year in March as planned.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]