Royal Navy: British F-35 fighter jet pilot trains Japanese aviators ahead of HMS Prince of Wales deployment
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British fighter pilots are training Japanese aviators operating jets ahead of a major carrier strike group deployment.
Lieutenant Commander Nick Baker has been helping Japanese allies and showing them how to operate F-35 Lighting jets. The aircraft will be a major fixture of the UK Carrier Strike Group, lead HMS Prince of Wales, which will be deployed to the Indo-Pacific region. Army soldiers are currently carrying out workup drills in Japan.
Lt Cdr Baker and fellow pilots from the US Patuxent River Integrated Test Force - which includes some of the most renowned and experienced Lighting jet aviators across the world - carried out a string of tests to make sure the flights ran smoothly. “The trials need to assure Japan with recommendations on how they can fully operate the aircraft in the future,” Lt Cdr Baker added.
“But 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 operates F-35A aircraft - the conventional, land-based variant of the fifth-generation stealth/strike fighter. Tokyo has invested in 42 of the short take-off/vertical landing variant of the Lightning – the Model B. These are identical to those operated on the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.
Each F-35 variant possess different flight characteristics, with the conditions the pilots will be facing on Japanese ships changing from those on the British carriers. Izumo-class multi-purpose destroyers, led by JS Kaga, have been modified for Lightning operations. The vessels are 27,000 tonnes, have flight decks over 800ft flight deck, a single rather than twin island superstructure, and have no ski ramp. The F-35s will be operated from the rear of the deck.
Given these changes, British personnel were tasked with monitoring various results from these aerial drills. Reams of data on each serial were gathered for analysis, which will be presented to the Japanese Maritime Defence Force. JS Kaga will join HMS Prince of Wales for various exercises and patrols later this year.