Revival of the Japanese aircraft carrier fleet
Not very nice information. For the first time since 1945, a combat aircraft first took off from a Japanese ship and then boarded it. And, unfortunately, this is not a WWII movie.
This is reality.
Thus began a cycle of tests, which were supposed to test the possibility of basing and operating American F-35B aircraft from Japanese ships.
For this, the Japanese have such original ships as the Izumo-class helicopter destroyers.
The displacement of these ships is 19 tons standard and 500 tons full. It is not even "Admiral Kuznetsov" with its 27 tons, but if there are two, then it is almost our aircraft-carrying cruiser.
But the Japanese ships are not 40+ years old, but much less. We can say - new, ten years for two did not serve. With all the ensuing consequences.
These oversized destroyers can carry up to 28 aircraft each. That is, here too, each Izumo is like a half of Admiral Kuznetsov.
"Admiral Kuznetsov" in Japanese
But Japan's plans to modernize its destroyer-helicopter carriers to full-fledged aircraft carriers cannot be called peaceful and defensive, because, as practice has shown, an aircraft carrier is a way of projecting power to remote regions of the globe. And if, together with almost four dozen military destroyers fleet Japan - that fist turns out to be quite decent.
Yet Japan has already begun upgrading one of its aircraft-carrying warships, the Izumo, into a full-fledged aircraft carrier. And the cycle of the tests that have begun should find out to what extent the Izumo and, most likely, subsequently the second ship of the class, the Kaga, are suitable for basing the F-35B on them with further use.
Something tells me that Izumo and Kaga will do. Or the F-35B would be suitable for Japanese ships.
I wonder who came up with such a wonderful plan? Is everyone in Japan so susceptible to militaristic aspirations?
No, the idea, as usual, came from the other side of the Pacific Ocean. The American defense technology company General Atomics has proposed to the Japanese government to upgrade the destroyers-helicopter carriers into full-fledged aircraft carriers. Naturally, the F-35B should have become the basis for modernization.
And so, on October 3, 2021, two F-35B fighter-bombers piloted by pilots from the 242nd Fighter-Assault Squadron aviation United States Marine Corps, which is stationed in Japan at Iwakuni Air Force Base.
Naturally, up to this point, significant work has been carried out at Izumo: the landing and air traffic control systems have been modernized, power generation has been increased and the power supply lines have been significantly updated. But the main job was to apply a heat-resistant coating to the flight deck, since initially there were no plans to launch aircraft from Izumo.
From June 2020 to June 2021, work was carried out at Izumo by Japan Marine United in Yokohama.
The first stage of modernization work cost 3,1 billion yen (about 28 million dollars) and was mainly concerned with ensuring the possibility of basing the F-35B aircraft on Izumo.
The second stage of work will begin after the pilots complete the test flight cycle, that is, approximately at the beginning of 2025. During this stage, the shape of the bow of the ships will be changed, it will be expanded for a safer takeoff and landing of aircraft, the electronic-optical landing system JPALS will be installed, hangars and lifts will be completely re-equipped for aircraft, and the storage of fuel, oils, spare parts and components will be adjusted for new needs. ...
There are no plans to install springboards, relying on the F-35B's ability to take off and land almost vertically.
After the completion of two stages, Izumo will become a full-fledged light aircraft carrier, capable of carrying up to 16 aircraft.
The Kaga, the second aircraft carrier, is slated to take over next year. And to carry out all the work that will be done at Izumo in just a year.
In general, it cannot be said that the Izumo and Kaga destroyers-helicopter carriers will turn into full-fledged aircraft carriers. Rather, something similar to the Spanish ship "Juan Carlos First", the air group of which may consist of three dozen aircraft, including the F-35B. But the Spanish ship has a springboard that makes it easier for aircraft to take off, but on Japanese ships, pilots will have a little more difficulty.
In general, the two aircraft-carrying ships in the Asia-Pacific region, where a quiet confrontation between China and the United States is unfolding today, will not affect the peace in any way. On the contrary, most likely, the situation will gradually escalate.
It's no secret that the Japanese are gradually thawing out imperial ambitions, which seemed to be reliably frozen in 1945. But as practice shows, even the Constitution does not guarantee stability.
As we remember (and we remember) that in 1947, having qualitatively and calmly analyzed all the atrocities that the Japanese committed against the Chinese, Koreans, Mongols, the countries of the world community banned Japan from having an army. And just in case, it was fixed in the Constitution.
"Sincerely striving for an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as the nation's sovereign right, and the threat or use of armed force as a means of settling international disputes."
Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution
So, the basic law says that in Japan "never again will be created land, sea and air forces, as well as other means of war." In addition, the document clearly prohibits offensive war. Kind of like "for all time."
But it turned out that it was only 75 years old. And this "we can repeat" in the performance of Japan is not very pleasant, because Japan is clearly in a position to repeat. And the creation of an army instead of "self-defense forces", and the creation of a full-fledged military fleet with four aircraft-carrying ships, two of which will now be reformatted into aircraft carriers.
There is no doubt that the Japanese ships will, if necessary, line up with the American ones.
And not only during exercises. This is the price of an alliance. But the Japanese also have enough ambitious plans and territorial claims today. To Russia, to South Korea, for example.
So, of course, there is no doubt that the Japanese will use their fleet and army, which are regularly included in the top 10 of the world, exclusively for peaceful purposes of protecting their borders and territories. As it already happened in their stories.
It sounds, of course, very optimistic, but there is little faith in these words. Because indeed, such a developed country like Japan, and even with such support from the United States, can easily repeat it.
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