US F-35 stealth fighters begin training drills near Okinawa

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Training maneuvers by the US Marine Corps' F-35 fighter jets began this week near Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, local media reported on Wednesday.

The drills of the next-generation stealth aircraft were conducted this week following the first overseas deployment by the US of the fighter jets to the Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture last month.

Local media quoted the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force as describing the drills involving the planes as "regularly scheduled training" and added that the F-35 jets will operate on a "transient basis out of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and Kadena Air Base." Both US bases are located in Okinawa.

An F-35B stealth fighter jet is shown after its arrival at the US Marine Corps' Iwakuni base in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan on January 18, 2017. /CFP Photo

No further information about the drills, such as times, locations and purposes were provided by the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, which heads up the US Marines in Japan.

The arrival of the jets in January is part of a broader plan to assign 16 similar fighters to bases there.

Along with the US deploying its F-35s, Japan's Ministry of Defense (MOD) also plans to purchase at least six Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning stealth fighter jets and has stated the acquisition is aimed at "intending to help bolster Japan's Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) achieving superior air-combat capability."

Two F-35B stealth fighter jets arrive at the US Marine Corps' Iwakuni base in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan on January 18, 2017. /CFP Photo

The MOD here has previously stated that the stealth fighter, the Pentagon's most expensive weapons system in history, can be configured for air-to-air engagements, as well as air-to-ground and air-to-sea engagements.

It has also referred to the fact that developments have been underway for the fighter to carry next-generation weaponry, including the possibility of a solid state laser and a High Speed Strike Weapon (HSSW), which is a hypersonic missile.

The fifth-generation, multi-role stealth fighter jets have been selected by Japan's MOD as its future mainstay fighter, as the jet offers superior stealth capabilities, second only to that of the US F-22 Raptor. With a radar cross-section roughly equal to the size of a metal golf ball, it’s largely undetectable to radars.

(Source: Xinhua)