<figure id="attachment_457025" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-457025" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="f658f9c9"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/b8c47b7dd49f1050cb3853ed1679eff0.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-457025" class="wp-caption-text">The aircraft lands vertically with the rear engine nozzles pointing downward. Jet exhaust hits the ground, creating a tremendous amount of dust.</figcaption></figure>
<h2> A New Japanese Shield</h2>
<p> The fighter, which had been flying slowly over Miyazaki Prefecture toward the Air Self-Defense Force&#8217;s Nyutabaru Air Base, came to a sudden stop in mid-air. After turning on the spot, it descended straight to the ground. When it landed lightly, the local residents and aircraft enthusiasts who were watching the plane cheered (see photo above).</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I heard a tremendous roar and looked up at the night sky to see a fighter jet hovering like a helicopter,&#8221; said a resident who was waiting for a train on a station platform when he saw a fighter jet he had never seen before over the mountains.</span></p>
<p> Mysterious flying objects have been spotted in Miyazaki Prefecture since last fall. Its true identity was the F-35B, the next-generation stealth fighter that made a successful vertical landing in the scene shown at the beginning of this article.</p>
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<p> The proposed defense budget for FY 2014 has reached the 9 trillion yen mark for the first time in history. One of the symbols of this is the deployment of an aircraft carrier for the first time since the end of World War II.</p>
<p> The two ships have flat decks from bow to stern to allow for the operation of a large number of helicopters, so they will be treated to resist heat and pressure and used as runways for fighter aircraft. &#8211;The F-35B was chosen as the fighter aircraft to be carried by the hastily-built aircraft carrier.</p>
<p> The most distinctive feature of this aircraft is its ability to take off and land vertically in a short runway of about 200 meters. The F-35B was the only choice when it came to operating fighter aircraft on the 250-meter-long Izumo.</p>
<p> On August 7, 2013, three F-35Bs were deployed to the &#8220;Temporary F-35B Squadron&#8221; established within the 5th Air Wing, which has its headquarters at Shintabara Air Base. The pilots and maintenance personnel are now in the midst of training. The background to the rapid pace at which the JSDF is upgrading its F-35B fleet is the looming threat from China.</p>
<p> The Chinese military already has three aircraft carriers. The radar irradiation of JASDF F-15 fighter jets by carrier-borne aircraft is still fresh in our minds, and Chinese military demonstrations in the waters surrounding Japan have become a problem day and night. Amidst this situation, China has begun construction of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.</p>
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<p> The &#8220;Temporary F-35B Squadron&#8221; will be renamed the &#8220;202nd Squadron&#8221; by the end of February, and will eventually have a 42-aircraft carrier-borne unit.</p>
<p> The acquisition of a field to the south of the Shintabara Air Base is almost complete. A dedicated F-35B facility is planned to be built on the site. Will the &#8220;Hinomaru Aircraft Carrier,&#8221; which will be the first joint effort between the Air Self-Defense Force and the Maritime Self-Defense Force since the establishment of the Self-Defense Forces, serve as a shield to protect Japan?</p>
<figure id="attachment_457028" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-457028" style="width: 1925px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="3e33a0bc"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/406265a810d485f01420be7b21371ac6.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-457028" class="wp-caption-text"> With a top speed of Mach 1.6, it can move like a helicopter. Since last November, the carrier has been undergoing day and night training to become qualified to fly it.</figcaption></figure>
<p> From the February 13, 2026 issue of FRIDAY</p>


 Masayuki Kikuchi, military photojournalist

 The F-35B, a next-generation stealth fighter that can take off and land vertically with a runway of only about 200 meters, will be deployed on an aircraft carrier for the first time after the war. It is currently in the midst of training for pilots and maintenance personnel. Will it be a shield to protect Japan from the Chinese threat?

 The first postwar "Hinomaru" aircraft carrier, the "Izumo" model, a collaboration between the Maritime Self-Defense Force and the Air Self-Defense Force.

Prepare for the oncoming Chinese threat: Next-generation stealth fighter &#8220;F-35B&#8221; makes a tense &#8220;vertical landing&#8221; on the ground!

Prepare for the oncoming Chinese threat: Next-generation stealth fighter “F-35B” makes a tense “vertical landing” on the ground!

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