Izumo-Class Destroyers Deemed Fit to Carry F-35B Aircraft, If Remodeled (excerpt)(Source: Yomiuri Shimbun; published April 28, 2018)The [Japanese] Defense Ministry released a report on Friday concluding that Izumo-class destroyers of the Maritime Self-Defense Force can handle takeoffs and landings of fighter aircraft, if remodeled.

The report positively evaluated the Izumo-class destroyers for their “high potential to improve aircraft operational capabilities.”

Izumo-class destroyers are the largest in the MSDF. The Izumo and Kaga destroyers, both currently in service, are under consideration to be remodeled into aircraft carriers by the MSDF.

The report, which was submitted on March 22, is based on an investigation the MSDF entrusted to Japan Marine United Corp., the company that manufactured the Izumo-class vessels.

According to the report, the company examined whether the most advanced stealth F-35B fighter aircraft, which are capable of making short take-offs and vertical landings, can be operated from the Izumo-class vessels. The report lists what needs to be remodeled and other necessities that would enable the aircraft to take off, land, refuel and hangar.

The investigation was conducted under the assumption that the purpose would be to provide logistic support to U.S. military aircraft. Aircraft maintenance work on the Izumo-class vessels was among the situations not envisaged.

The company also examined the possibility of operating unmanned aircraft with rotor blades or fixed wings.


(EDITOR’S NOTE: The Asahi Shimbun said that “the Defense Ministry's precondition for the study was to look into how the Izumo could be used to provide rear-line support to the U.S. military,” but not to operate F-35Bs on its own ships.
The company was asked to provide estimates for the cost and construction schedule if changes were made to allow U.S. F-35B stealth fighter jets to land vertically on the deck and to use elevators to transport aircraft to their hangars, it reported.)

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The headline mentions ships - but the only programme mentioned in the article is the F-35.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/m...osts-97hx79bgl

MoD is billions short for new ships and jets after losing control of costs

Britain’s defence chiefs have lost control of their budget and cannot afford to buy all the warships, jets and submarines they need, MPs warn today.

The public accounts committee says in a report that it is “highly sceptical” that a defence review, due to conclude in July, will fix a funding gap of up to £21 billion over the next decade while also equipping troops to counter new threats from cyber, chemical and electromagnetic warfare......

“How can you afford not to?” one official told a group of journalists at a briefing yesterday.... The official indicated concern about the UK’s ability to afford all 138 of the next generation of stealthy warplanes that the Ministry of Defence has said it plans to buy as part of a multibillion-pound US-led programme. “The [UK] government has a choice as to whether they are going to continue to fund their defence at the level at which they previously said it needed to be funded — 138,” the official said, referring to the 138 F-35 Lightning II jets......

The public accounts committee describes as unrealistic the MoD’s plan to purchase and support military equipment, including at least 48 of the F-35 jets, by 2027. Its report is published almost six years to the day since Philip Hammond, as defence secretary, said that the government had “resolved” a £38 billion hole in the defence budget.......

The MoD is also criticised for a lack of transparency on its financial position. The annual equipment plan was made public ten months after the period that it covers began. A particular mention is made of the cost of the Lockheed Martin F-35 programme, the most expensive and technologically advanced warplane in history. The MoD has refused to offer a price estimate for a single, combat-capable F-35 jet, including upgrades and spare parts, or how much the total programme will cost. The MPs say that they “frustratingly” received more information on cost from the F-35 joint programme office in the US than from the MoD........

Beagle, as I’m sure you already know, the E-3D has the ability to refuel using either boom or probe and drogue. On the other hand, the E-7 will be boom only!?.

Sorry, thread drift and now back to the future.... F35

6th June? Or do they need the software upgrade..