Japanese F-35A Has Gone Missing Over The Pacific Ocean
Japan's first operational F-35 squadron was stood up just days ago at Misawa Air Base, the same base the F-35 in question supposedly launched from
April 9, 2019
Details remain extremely limited at this time, but
there are reports from Japanese media outlets stating that one of the Japan Air Self Defense Force's F-35As has gone missing during an evening training mission off Northern Japan. A search effort is supposedly now underway.
Reports state that the F-35 went missing at around 7:30pm local time on the 9th of April, 2019. The aircraft had taken off from Misawa Air Base and was around 85 miles east of that location, over the Pacific Ocean, when it disappeared from Japan's tracking systems.
That's what we have as of now and keep in mind that these are media reports, not official statements. So, these details could change dramatically in the coming hours.
Let's hope they do.
Japan just stood up its
first operational F-35A squadron days ago at Misawa Air Base and is currently the largest foreign customer for the aircraft with an inventory of 147 of the jets planned. As it sits now, Japan's orders will include 42 F-35Bs for its
Izumo class carriers. The rest will be F-35As. For
a number of reasons, the F-35A represents a huge capability boost for the JASDF.
There has only been one in-flight loss of an F-35, that aircraft was an F-35B that
crashed near MCAS Beaufort in South Carolina in September of last year.
We will update this piece as more details come available.
Update: 5:45am PDT—
Japan Times has confirmed that the jet went missing with the Defense Ministry, stating:
"The Defense Ministry said Tuesday that an Air Self-Defense Force F-35A fighter disappeared from radar over the Pacific Ocean.
The fighter jet vanished from radar east of Aomori Prefecture at 7:27 p.m., the ministry said, adding that it is still confirming the details."
Update: 6:30am PDT—
The F-35 was part of a four-ship flight that departed Misawa around the same time and were training in the area together. There is still no word as to the status of the pilot.
There are some vessels in the area that could be assisting in the search and rescue efforts:
Japanese F-35A Has Gone Missing Over The Pacific Ocean
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