Royal Navy Pilot Helping Japanese Navy Deploy F-35s

An experienced Royal Navy F-35 pilot is helping Japan integrate the aircraft onto its Izumo-class destroyers.

Lieutenant Commander Nick Baker, one of the test pilots with the Patuxent River Integrated Test Force (Pax ITF), has been flying sorties in the Pacific Ocean on the JS Kaga, one of the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force’s multi-purpose destroyers.

Japan has bought 42 F-35Bs, the short take-off/vertical landing variant of the Lightning II aircraft which the Royal Navy operates on its aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.

It is modifying some of its vessels to accommodate the aircraft, including remodelling the flight deck to make it more rectangular, adding lighting, and treating the deck with heat-resistant paint to withstand the thrust from the planes’ engines.

Maryland-based Pax ITF is made up of pilots, industry experts and aviation scientists who help allied navies around the globe learn how to deploy the fighter jets.

Lt Cdr Baker commented: “The trials also included some unusual deck manoeuvres, such as landing facing aft, or across the deck [with the F-35’s nose facing the superstructure] and vertical take-offs.”

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Capt. Shusaku Takeuchi, commanding officer of JS Kaga, added: “This test does not merely enhance the capabilities of the Maritime Self-Defense Force.

“It also improves the interoperability between Japan and the U.S., strengthening the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. alliance, thereby contributing to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.”

JS Kaga is expected to be among the vessels conducting joint exercises with the U.K. Carrier Strike Group on its 2025 Pacific deployment later this year.

• You can read more details on the Royal Navy website and on the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command website