Japan has taken delivery of its first three Lockheed Martin F-35B stealth fighters. The short take-off and vertical landing aircraft arrived at Nyutabaru Air Base in southern Miyazaki prefecture on August 7, and were flown in by US pilots. The new fighters will be based at Nyutabaru until a planned F-35B training facility on Mageshima Island is complete.

They will eventually operate from Japan’s two converted helicopter carriers, the JS Izumo and JS Kaga, which were modified to handle the B-variant. A fourth aircraft from the same batch will also be delivered later.

Japan Plans Fleet Of 42 F-35Bs

The three newly arrived short take-off and vertical landing F-35Bs are part of an initial group of four aircraft scheduled for deployment at Nyutabaru, with the fourth jet expected to j

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