Page 104 - Australian Defence Magazine Feb-Mar 2023

104 AIR POWER REGIONAL CAPABILITIES
FEBRUARY-MARCH 2023 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
5TH GENERATION ASPIRATIONS
Similarly, the more advanced militaries in the Indo-Pacific are forging their own pathways to that end. Unsurprisingly, the F-35 will be at the core of these militaries’ modernisa- tion efforts, and Japan, Singapore, and South Korea are all in the process of acquiring or introducing the platform and developing their own integrated networks.
These modernisation efforts are driven by threats which are more of a clear and present danger to these countries, owing to their proximity and regional geopolitics. US allies Japan and South Korea have historical grievances with nu- clear-armed North Korea, with the two Koreas technically
for the aircraft carriers of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).
This is in addition to more than 1,000 older jets such as the Chengdu J-10, Shenyang J-11 and J-16 already in ser- vice with more being built. The latter two types are based on the Russian Sukhoi Flanker airframe but utilising in- digenous avionics, weapons, and, more recently, engines.
JAPAN: CLOSER US INTEGRATION
Japan is currently on track to be the largest F-35 operator outside of the United States, with an intention to eventu- ally acquire 105 F-35As and 42 Short Take Off Vertical Landing (STOVL) F-35B aircraft. They will replace the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) fleet of F-4EJ Phan- toms and older F-15J Eagle interceptors.
Introduction of the F-35A is well underway, with the last two units of the venerable F-4EJ Phantom IIs retired in 2021 now flying the conventional take-off and landing vari- ant from Misawa Air Base in northern Japan.
The STOVL F-35Bs are earmarked for operations on board the two Izumo-class ships of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), which are currently being converted for operating F-35Bs having originally been de- signed as helicopter-destroyers despite having full length 248 metre (814 ft) flight decks.
Despite the modern platforms, Japan still has some way to go when it comes to fielding a networked, integrated force, with joint operations between the ground, air and maritime self-defence forces still in its infancy despite ten- tative steps such as amphibious operations being taken.
BELOW: The JASDF’s F-35s, E-2D Hawkeye and JMSDF Aegis destroyers are all equipped with Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC)
“THE BIGGEST THREAT FROM THE ISOLATED STALINIST REGIME IS FROM ITS ARSENAL OF BALLISTIC MISSILES”
still at war with one another due to the absence of a formal peace treaty following the Korean War of 1950-53.
The biggest threat from the isolated Stalinist regime is from its arsenal of ballistic missiles, which are highly mobile and be- ing adapted to carry nuclear war-
heads in addition to conventional high explosives.
Japan also has historical grievances with China left over from the former’s colonial legacy and occupation during World War 2, which has carried forward into ongoing ter- ritorial disputes in the East China Sea. Japan is also in- creasingly cognisant that any invasion of Taiwan by China’s increasingly advanced military will almost certainly involve it in some way due to geography and the presence of US
forces stationed on its territory.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army is of course in-
troducing its own advanced aerial capabilities, with more than 150 Chengdu J-20 stealth fighters in service with the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) and it is de- veloping the Shenyang J-35, a carrierborne stealth fighter
NORTHROP GRUMMAN