The F-35A stealth fighter-bomber of the Japanese self-defense air forces which sank in the Pacific Ocean earlier this month was found, and recovery operations are already underway. This was announced yesterday by General Charles Brown, commander of the US Pacific Air Force. The US and Japan had undertaken extensive research operations since the aircraft disappeared during a training flight last April 9. The fear of the two countries is that the recovery of the wreckage of the aircraft by opposing powers, such as China and Russia, could reveal sensitive technological secrets. Brown explained during a press conference in New York that the United States and Japan are collaborating on the recovery operations: according to information circulated in recent days, the wreckage of the aircraft could be on a depth at 4 thousand meters deep.
The F-35, a fifth-generation fighter developed by Lockheed Martin, escapes radar and should play a crucial role in the defense strategies of the United States and its allies in the decades to come. "He is able to monitor and destroy enemy cruise missiles today and, in the future, he can be equipped with a new or modified interceptor capable of bringing down the opposing ballistic missiles in their push phase," the Defense Department said. United States in its review of the 2019 missile defense program.
The Chinese and the Russians were very active in trying to acquire information about the F-35 technology. The wrecks from the plane could give them valuable insights into the materials that provide stealth capabilities to the aircraft.