Japan’s decision to acquire the F-35B stems from a broader plan to strengthen defence capabilities as security conditions in the Far East deteriorate. On December 18, 2018, the government approved the purchase of 105 F-35 fighters, supplementing 42 F-35A aircraft ordered earlier, with 42 of the total designated as the F-35B variant.
The first Japanese F-35B was completed in 2024 but remained in the United States to support pilot training, shipboard landing trials, and testing of evolving operational capabilities. Three aircraft intended for domestic service arrived at Nyutabaru on August 7, 2025, with up to two more delivered since then, and the Ministry of Defence has announced that four additional F-35Bs will arrive at the base by the end of March 2026.
Unlike the F-35A squadrons based at Misawa and, from 2027, Komatsu on Honshu, the F-35B fleet will operate from Kyushu, Japan’s southwesternmost major island. From there, the aircraft can quickly reach the Ryukyu Islands, the East China Sea, and Taiwan, and they will also operate from the modified helicopter carriers JS Izumo and JS Kaga, while remaining under the command of the Air Self-Defence Force rather than the Maritime Self-Defence Force.
