Japan's armed forces will be equipped with the F-35B equipped. Tests with the jet on board of a helicopter destroyer, the Proof of maritime operational capability place.
Last autumn, the Japanese helicopter destroyer KAGA moved off the Californian coast not far from San Diego for operational tests with the Lockheed Martin F-35B. At 15:15 local time on 20 October 2024, an F-35B landed for the first time on the flight deck of the KAGA, which is classified as a destroyer but is actually a helicopter carrier. As the Japanese constitution prohibits the operation of aircraft carriers, the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force is using the trick of classifying the KAGA as a helicopter destroyer.
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