Japanese $Billions Aircraft Carrier Is Finally Ready For Action
Japan is surrounded by its most consequential rivals. Russia, North Korea, and China - all powerful militaries share a border with Japan. To prevent having an offensive posture Japan for decades declined to have the most force-projecting warship in its Navy’s fleet - an aircraft carrier. However a heavy conflict is about to begin, so the country will have to take another approach.
Today, Japan is building aircraft carriers — in a conventional way nonetheless. The Navy is upgrading its two largest vessels, the combined $2 billion Izumo-class helicopter destroyers. Once completed, the aircraft carriers would host tens of America’s latest fifth-generation stealth fighter — the F-35. Japan is slated to be the largest operator of the F-35 outside of the US, which is quite significant for a fighter that’s been exported to 16 different nations, with some of these nations including the closest allies to the US such as Canada, Italy, Israel, and the United Kingdom. This willingness of the United States to stuff Japan full of its most intelligent fighter isn’t surprising though. The US has a list of adversaries that twins up with that of Japan.
