STORY – Faced with a triple threat from Russia, North Korea and China, the “Self-Defense Forces” are modernizing their equipment and trying to overcome their operational constraints.
Symbols resembling white crosses dot the flight deck of the Izumo. There are five of them lined up along a yellow line from one end of the Japanese aircraft carrier to the other. They mark the landing sites for helicopters and, soon, F35B aircraft. These fifth-generation American-designed fighters are capable of vertical landing and short take-off. Despite its 248-meter length, the Izumo’s deck, which has no catapult unlike the aircraft carriers is too short for other types of aircraft.
” Yellow line serves as take-off line “explains Commander Takahiko Ishidera, as he shows our guests around. Figaro his ship, docked at the Yokosuka naval base, south of Tokyo. On the other side of the bay, you can see the base where the HQ of the 7e fleet, which it is forbidden to photograph. ” The F35Bs will be able to land in just two places…
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