The F-35A pilot of the Japanese air force, lost at sea on the evening of Tuesday 9 April, during an exercise flight off the coast of northern Japan, had asked to interrupt the mission shortly before the Misawa air base lost contact with the aircraft. The Japanese media report it.
The aircraft had disappeared from radar after taking off from Misawa air base, in Aomori prefecture; the single-seat plane, flown by an experienced pilot, was flying along with four other fighter jets about 135 kilometers from the base, when the other aircraft and the base lost contact. The military forces involved in the rescue found wreckage of the aircraft in the early morning yesterday, while the pilot is still missing. The first F-35A, with a unit cost of $ 90 million, entered service in Japan last year, replacing the F-4 aircraft. Tokyo intends to deploy 105 F-35As in all, in addition to 42 F-35Bs, for a total of 147 sixth generation aircraft.
Japan also intends to modernize its fleet of interceptors, replacing the Mitsubishi F-2 and F-15J aircraft, nearing the end of their operational life, in the 2030.
In recent months, Lockheed Martin has formalized the proposal to Japan for a future interceptor aircraft that should combine the technologies of the fifth-generation US aircraft F-22 Raptor, of which the US has so far banned export, and the F-35 Lighting II.
The Lockheed project, which will involve highly sensitive military technologies, will test US President Trump's commitment to facilitate arms exports to allied countries. The new aircraft "will combine the F-22 and the F-35 and may be superior to both," say the sources. Tokyo is waiting to receive offers also from Boeing and BaE Systems.
According to Japanese Defense sources, Lockheed Martin also proposed that Japanese aerospace and technology companies be responsible for more than half of the development and production of the future fifth-generation interceptor fighter. The future fighter plane, which Tokyo would like to introduce into service starting from the 2030, would be essentially a modernized and updated version of the F-22, especially as regards the electronic and avionics equipment.