The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (航空自衛隊, Kōkū Jieitai), JASDF (空自, Kūji), also referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the air and space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and electronic warfare. The JASDF carries out combat air patrols around Japan, while also maintaining a network of ground and air early-warning radar systems. The branch also has an aerobatic team known as Blue Impulse and has provided air transport in UN peacekeeping missions.
The JASDF had an estimated 49,913 personnel as of 2018, and as of 2020 operates about 740 aircraft, approximately 330 of them being fighter aircraft.
As of 2020, the JASDF is under increasing pressure to intercept warplanes from China's People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) close to entering its air space. As of the last fiscal year ending in March 2020, the JASDF scrambled aircraft a record 947 times to intercept PLAAF warplanes. This has resulted in heavy wear and tear on their F-15J fighter aircraft, [5] due to this, as of 2021, the JASDF no longer intercepts most PLAAF warplane approaches and has deployed F-35 fighter jets to supplement the F-15J fighter jets in this role.[6][7]
The service was planned to be renamed in 2023 to the Japan Air and Space Self-Defense Force (航空宇宙自衛隊, Kōkū Uchū Jieitai), in recognition of the increasing importance of the space domain. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force flag was first adopted in 1955 after the JASDF was created in 1954. It is based on a cap badge made in 1954. The flag is cobalt blue with a gold winged eagle on top of a combined star, the moon, the Hinomaru sun disc and clouds.[31] The latest version of the JASDF flag was re-adopted on 19 March 2001.[32] The JASDF flag is different from the JSDF flag and the JGSDF flag. It is determined by a directive regarding the flags of the JSDF. As of 2019 the Japan Air Self-Defense Force has 12 fighter squadrons. Seven of these fly the Mitsubishi F-15J, three fly the Mitsubishi F-2, and two still fly the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II.
In 2019 the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II began to enter service with JASDF fighter squadrons to replace the F-4s, beginning with 302nd Tactical Fighter Squadron.
The Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin technology demonstrator was developed, and in the future Japan may purchase a new F-22/F-35 hybrid aircraft. Reports are once again emerging from Japan that Lockheed Martin is pitching a highly modified version of its stealthy F-22 Raptor air superiority fighter to Tokyo for its next-generation fighter requirement. However, Lockheed Martin would first have to overcome the 1997 Obey Amendment, which prohibits export of the powerful high altitude supersonically cruising stealth fighter. Additionally, the company would have to undertake a painstaking process to restart a production line for an aircraft that has been out of production since 2012.
Nonetheless, Lockheed Martin is reportedly willing not only to restart production of a modified F-22, the company is willing to extend significant work share to Japanese industry. “Lockheed Martin has proposed that Japanese companies be responsible for more than half of the development and production of a next-generation fighter jet that Japan wants to introduce in 2030,” Nikkei reports. “Lockheed is offering Japan an upgraded version of the existing F-22.”
As a sweetener to the potential deal, Lockheed Martin is reportedly willing to incorporate avionics built by Mitsubishi Electric and a new wing developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries onto the aircraft. Even components such as the fuselage that would be built in the United States would incorporate additional Japanese-made hardware. Potentially, the modified Raptor variant could use Japanese-developed IHI XF9-1 powerplants to replace the jets’ existing Pratt & Whitney F119 engines. “The updates will improve the plane's main wings and allow more fuel to be loaded, increasing the jet's range to about 2,200 km so it can be used to defend isolated islands and other missions,” Nikkei reports.
If the Pentagon, U.S. State Department and the U.S. Congress agree to change the law and allow Japan to restart the F-22 production line, there is some possibility that the U.S. Air Force could benefit from avionics upgrades for the new Japanese Raptors. Based on the threats the U.S. Air Force sees becoming operational in 2019-2020, the service is looking at planning future upgrades for the F-22—however those discussions are classified. But the fact remains that the Raptor’s avionics will need to be completely revamped at some point.
“Sometime between 2025 and 2030 we’re going to have to take a serious look at the supportability of some of the systems onboard the Raptor and upgrading those,” Tom McIntyre, a program analyst for F-22 requirements at Air Combat Command, told The National Interest last year . “We’re currently in the very early stage of looking at that.”
It is unlikely that the U.S. Air Force would buy additional F-22s for itself, however. The aircraft is expensive–with the Japanese variant potentially costing between $188 million and $215 million per jet depending on the order quantities—and the design is dated. Given the sheer cost of the aircraft, it is simply not worth it when there are more important priorities for the U.S. Air Force..
The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is a single-seat, twin-engine, all weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). The result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter program, the aircraft was designed primarily as an air superiority fighter, but has additional capabilities including ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals intelligence roles. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor and is responsible for the majority of the airframe, weapon systems, and final assembly of the F-22, while program partner Boeing provides the wings, aft fuselage, avionics integration, and training systems.
The aircraft was variously designated F-22 and F/A-22 prior to formally entering service in December 2005 as the F-22A. Despite a protracted development as well as operational issues, the USAF considers the F-22 a critical component of its tactical air power, and states that the aircraft is unmatched by any known or projected fighter. The Raptor's combination of stealth, aerodynamic performance, and situational awareness gives the aircraft unprecedented air-to-air capabilities. Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, former Chief of the Australian Defence Force, said in 2004 that the "F-22 will be the most outstanding fighter plane ever built."
Since entering service, operational problems have been experienced and some have caused fleet-wide groundings. Critically, F-22 pilots have experienced symptoms that include loss of consciousness, memory loss, emotional lability and neurological changes. Pilots have also experienced lingering respiratory problems and a chronic cough. A number of possible causes were investigated, including possible exposure to noxious chemical agents from the respiratory tubing, pressure suit malfunction, side effects from oxygen delivery at greater-than-atmospheric concentrations, and oxygen supply disruptions. The fleet was grounded for four months in 2011 before resuming flight, but reports of oxygen issues persisted. The problems resulted in inflight brain monitoring being considered by the USAF.
In 2005, the Raptor Aeromedical Working Group, a USAF expert panel, recommended several changes to deal with the oxygen supply issues, though they were initially not funded on cost grounds; the recommended changes received further consideration in 2012. In August 2012, the Pentagon found that the breathing regulator/anti-g (BRAG) valve, used to inflate the pilot's vest during high G maneuvers, was defective, inflating the vest at unintended intervals and restricting the pilot's breathing. The on-board oxygen generating system (OBOGS) also unexpectedly reduced oxygen levels during high-G maneuvers. Consequently, new backup oxygen generators were installed and the carbon filters were changed to reduce lung exposure to carbon particulates. The coughing symptoms have been attributed to acceleration atelectasis ("collapse or closure of a lung resulting in reduced or absent gas exchange") due to high g exposure and the F-22 delivering higher concentrations of oxygen compared to prior aircraft. The presence of toxins and particles in some ground crew was deemed to be unrelated.[192] After the F-22 Combined Test Force and 412th Aerospace Medicine Squadron determined that breathing restrictions on the pilot were the root cause, the resulting modifications to the life-support equipment and oxygen system allowed the distance and altitude flight restrictions to be lifted on 4 April 2013.
On 22 September 2014, F-22s performed the type's first combat sorties by conducting some of the opening strikes of Operation Inherent Resolve, the American-led intervention in Syria; aircraft dropped 1,000-pound GPS-guided bombs on Islamic State targets near Tishrin Dam. Between September 2014 and July 2015, F-22s flew 204 sorties over Syria, dropping 270 bombs at some 60 locations. Throughout their deployment, F-22s conducted close air support (CAS) and also deterred Syrian, Iranian, and Russian aircraft from attacking U.S.-backed Kurdish forces and disrupting U.S. operations in the region. F-22s also participated in the U.S. strikes on pro-government forces in eastern Syria on 7 February 2018. These strikes notwithstanding, the F-22's main role in the operation was gathering intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
An F-22 refueling prior to combat operations in Syria, September 2014
In late 2014, the USAF was testing a rapid deployment concept involving four F-22s and one C-17 for support, first proposed in 2008 by two F-22 pilots. The goal was for the type to be able to set up and engage in combat within 24 hours.[179][180] Four F-22s were deployed to Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany in August and Lask Air Base in Poland and Amari Air Base in Estonia in September 2015 to train with NATO allies.
In November 2017, F-22s operating alongside B-52s bombed opium production and storage facilities in Taliban-controlled regions of Afghanistan.[182] In 2019, the F-22 cost US$35,000 per flight hour to operate.
