Fighter pilots from Japan Air Self-Defense Force will be flying the F-35A at Luke Air Force Base by the end of the year, a Lockheed Martin official told Stars and Stripes in Tokyo.
By MSgt John Nimmo Sr. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
At the same time, Japanese technicians will learn how to maintain the aircraft at Eglin Air Force Base.
Eric W. Schnaible, the company’s F-35 international communications manager, added that AX-5 – the first Japanese-assembled F-35A – will roll out of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ plant in Nagoya next year.