Summary

  • Two Japanese F-35A jets had emergency landings in Japan, no injuries or damages reported.
  • Incident is under investigation by Japanese authorities.
  • Japan plans to receive first F-35Bs in 2025, partners with UK and Italy for new fighter aircraft.

Two Japanese F-35A fifth-generation fighter jets made emergency landings in Japan on Monday. Few details about the incident are known at this time, although there were no injuries or damage. This comes just days after a Marine Corps F-35B crashed in Albuquerque, reportedly involving a new Technology Refresh 2 upgrade. A pilot error also resulted in the deadly crash of two SH-60K helicopters in Japan in April 2024.

F-35As emergency landing in Japan

At around 09:00 on Monday, two Japanese F-35As made emergency landings, one after the other, during a training flight at Misawa Air Base in Japan’s Aomori Prefecture in the northern part of the main island of Honshu. The airport’s runway was closed from 08:58 to 09:16, although the temporary closure did not cause major disruptions.

A USAF F-35A flying in the sky.

Photo: United States Air Force

“Two F35A stealth fighters belonging to the Air Self-Defense Force’s Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture made emergency landings one after another at Aomori Airport in Aomori at around 9 a.m. on Monday. No injuries were reported.” – Japan News

Japan News reported that Misawa Air Base officials are investigating the cause of the incident. While Japanese officials did not provide details of the incident, they did say there were no injuries or damage. The Associated Press reported that airport officials had said that one of the aircraft had developed an “unspecified mechanical problem and requested an emergency landing.” It also said Japan’s Air Self Defense Force declined to provide any details.

The Misawa Air Base is also shared with the United States Air Force and the United States Navy. It hosts both Japanese and American troops, including the Air Force’s 35th Fighter Wing. Japanese F-35s are also based at Komatsu Air Base and Nyutabaru Air Base in Japan.

Related

How Many F-35 Fighter Jet Crashes Have There Been?

With only a handful of crashes throughout the years the F-35 boasts one of the best safety records among fighter jets.

Japan’s fleet of F-35s

According to F-35.com, Japan is acquiring at least 127 F-35 stealth fighter jets from the United States. These include 105 F-35A Conventional Take Off and Landing (CTOL) aircraft and up to 42 F-35B Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft, the most of any international buyer of the aircraft. The cost of the acquisition is estimated at around $23.11 billion.

In the United States, the F-35A is operated by the Air Force, and the F-35B is operated by the Marine Corps (it is also operated by the British RAF to fly off their aircraft carriers).

US Air Force F-35A

Photo: US Air Force

One of the final assembly and check-out facilities for the Japanese F-35As is at Nagoya in Japan (the Japanese F-35Bs are produced at Fort Worth in Texas). According to Aero Key, Japan is due to receive its first F-35Bs in 2025. Japan has also partnered with the United Kingdom and Italy to build the next (sixth) generation fighter aircraft called the Tempest or Global Combat Air Programme (previously, Japan was doing it alone with the Mitsubishi F-X).

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