F-35 in Japan

Japan intends to continue to assemble F-35As at a local facility in Nagoya.

U.S. defense firm Lockheed Martin has been awarded a contract to build a F-35 maintenance repair and upgrade facility in Japan.

Pilot vertigo rather than a mechanical problem was the cause of the crash in April, according to a JASDF investigative report.

Japan resumed training missions of its F-35As last Thursday.

Japan’s air force says that “spatial disorientation” likely caused the pilot to crash his F-35A into the Pacific Ocean on April 9.

The Japanese minister of defense officially confirmed the death of a pilot who went missing with his F-35A on April 9.

The Japanese government has stopped searching for a F-35A fighter aircraft that crashed into the Pacific Ocean almost two months ago.

The U.S. Navy has officially ended its search for a missing Japanese F-35A Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter that crashed last month.

Part of the flight data recorder was recovered “on or after May 3,” according to Japan’s defense minister.

A U.S. general says the wreckage has been found; other U.S. military spokespeople deny that.

US and Japanese search efforts are reportedly closing in on the wreckage of a crashed Japanese F-35A fighter jet.

The Japan Air Self-Defense Force confirmed that a missing F-35A has crashed.

Japan’s remaining fleet of 12 F-35As will remain grounded for the time being, according to the Japanese defense minister.

Japan stood up its first operational F-35A fighter squadron, the 302nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, on March 29.

Tokyo is reviewing ceasing indigenous production of the F-35A to save costs.

The F-35 has always been seen as just an interim solution by Japanese defense planners as the aircraft cannot fulfill crucial operational requirements of the JASDF.

Japan’s cabinet has voted to buy over 100 extra F-35 stealth fighter jets.

Japan is going electromagnetic, with implications for Japanese security policy and the U.S. regional strategy.

The Japanese military is purportedly also mulling the purchase of F-35Bs, according to sources.

The Japan Air Self-Defense Force deployed its first F-35A fighter jet this month.

The Japanese ministry of defense publicly confirmed that it will seek funds for new missiles in next year’s budget.

Japan will purportedly allocate funds to study the possibility of arming fighter jets with long-range air-to-ground missiles.

Is it time for Japan to acquire long-range cruise missiles?