Japanese MoD Confirms Selection of F-35 Fighter Aircraft

It’s official now: the Japanese Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed on Tuesday that it intends to purchase F-35A Lightning II for its F-X future fighter aircraft programme. The selection of the US-built stealth aircraft had been anticipated by analysts and in different press reports that aired in November and earlier this month, mainly due to the close ties between Japan and the United States. 


Japan’s decision adds a new country to the long list of partners and potential customers for this aircraft, which has been through tough times due to development setbacks, delays and political pressure. The programme has been joined by nine partner nations, comprising the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway. In addition, Israel selected the F-35A in October 2012 as the Israeli Air Force’s (IAF) next generation fighter aircraft. 

Lockheed Martin can now anticipate the signing of a purchase contract worth an estimated $4.7 billion. In an official statement on the formal decision, the Japanese cabinet confirmed: “The government shall acquire 42 units of the F-35A after fiscal 2012 in order to replenish and to modernise the current fleet of fighters held by the Air Self-Defense Force.” 


According to Lockheed Martin, the initial contract will be for four jets in Japan Fiscal Year 2012, which begins 1 April 2012. Japan’s Defence Minister Yasuo Ichikawa told AFP that he is confident that his country will receive the first fighters within the agreed schedule, stating: “We have received assurances that the delivery will be made on time.”[1] 

In response to today’s announcement, Lockheed Martin Chairman and CEO Bob Stevens said: “We are honoured by the confidence the Japanese government has placed in the F-35 and our industry team to deliver this 5th generation fighter to the Japan Air Self Defense Force. This announcement begins a new chapter in our long-standing partnership with Japanese industry and builds on the strong security cooperation between the U.S. and Japan.”[2] 


Prevailing over the F/A-18 Super Hornet and the Eurofighter Typhoon, which had also been considered within F-X tender, the F-35A is planned to replace the ageing fleet of 117 F-4 Phantom II, which have been in service with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) since 1968. According to AFP, the F-35 bid by the US government and Lockheed Martin was the most expensive of the three offers under consideration, with an estimated price tag of $US113 million per aircraft. 

Ichikawa emphasised that, despite the higher costs, the F-35 was selected due to the capabilities that it provides. “It is a fighter with capacity to respond to the changing security environment,” the Defence Minister explained. 


The F-35A is the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) configuration of the single-seat and single-engine 5th generation fighter aircraft that is designed to offer advanced stealth capabilities, in order penetrate enemy air defences unseen. In addition to the F-35A, Lockheed Martin and its principal industrial partners, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems, develop a short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant for the US Marine Corps, the Royal Air Force and Navy, and the Italian Navy (F-35B), as well as variant for carrier landings to be operated by the US Navy (F-35C). Thereby, the F-35 fighter aircraft is expected to become the backbone of the US air fleet, similar to or even to a larger extent than today’s role of the F/A-18 family of multi-role fighter aircraft. 

However, due to demanding technical requirements and the programme’s complexity, it has become the most expensive weapons programme in the history of the U.S. Department of Defence (DoD) and is troubled by increasing costs and delays. 


Japan’s decision comes amid an increasingly unstable security-political environment in the Far East. In addition to China’s continuous military build-up, as well as likely increase of tensions between the US and China over strategic influence in the western Pacific area, the announcement of the selection has been made one day after the news of the death of Kim Jong Il caused a great stir region. The uncertainties of the transition of power to the deceased North Korean leader’s son, Kim Jong Eun, raise fears over the possible flare-up of an armed conflict on the Korean peninsula.[3] 

With the F-35 in its inventory, Japan will be able to remain an important part in the large puzzle that the United States is carefully putting together piece by piece to sustain and increase its strategic influence in the region. This includes the delivery of important military hardware to key partners such as the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, and Australia, forming a ring of close US allies along the southern and eastern borders of China’s regional sphere of influence.