Japan

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Japan

Japan Air Self-Defense Force's 5th Generation Fighter

The F-35 Lightning II is designed and built to counter the most advanced threats – making it a perfect fit for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). As a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) participant, the JASDF has an established program of record of 127 F-35 Aircraft, consisting of 105 F-35 A models and up to 42 F-35 B models. Japan is acquiring the most of any international customer. ​

Nagoya, Japan is home to one of three final assembly and check-out (FACO) facilities for the F-35 Lightning II program. In partnership with Japanese industry, the FACO facility performs  the final assembly and check-out of F-35A aircraft to be delivered to the JASDF. Japan’s F-35Bs will be produced in the U.S. at the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics production facility in Fort Worth, Texas.​

To ensure the global readiness of the F-35 fleet well into the future, the F-35 Enterprise is standing up Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul and Upgrade (MRO&U) sites around the globe. With the Initial Depot Capability declared in June 2020, the site is now conducting MRO&U activities for the North Asia region, providing component repair and maintenance for the growing global F-35 fleet.

 

Base Locations

Program Milestones

2011: Japanese Ministry of Defense selected the F-35A as the next generation fighter of choice for the JASDF
2016: First Japanese aircraft, known as AX-1, took flight in
Fort Worth, TX
2016: First Japanese aircraft was delivered to
Luke AFB, Arizona 
2018: First JASDF ​F-35 was delivered to Misawa AB, Japan
 
 
2018: Japan announced, as part of the Mid-Term Defense Plan (MTDP), an additional 105 F-35s to their program of record
2019: JASDF declared Initial Operational Capability with the 302nd TFS​
 
2020: Initial Depot Operational Capability was declared for the F-35 MRO&U Depot at Komaki
 
2020: JASDF activated their second squadron, the 301st TFS