This June, 2017, photo shows Japan Air Self-Defense Force's F-35A stealth jet at a factory of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, in Toyoyama, central Japan. A search was underway for the Japanese fighter jet Tuesday, April 9, 2019, after it disappeared from radar during a flight exercise in northern Japan, defense officials said. The F-35A stealth jet, seen in the photo, went missing while flying off the eastern coast of Aomori, the Air Self-Defense Force said.(Kyodo News via AP)
Republished April 09, 2019 - 10:02 PM
Original Publication Date April 09, 2019 - 7:21 AM
TOKYO - A Japanese air force F-35 stealth fighter crashed in the Pacific Ocean during a night training flight and parts of the jet were recovered, the defence ministry said Wednesday.
The pilot is still missing. The F-35A stealth jet disappeared from radar while flying off the eastern coast of Aomori. Parts of the jet were found late Tuesday, the Air Self-Defence Force said.
It went missing about half an hour after taking off from the Misawa air base with three other F-35As.
Defence Minister Takeshi Iwaya told reporters the cause of the crash was not immediately known. He said 12 other F-35s at the Misawa base would be grounded.
The pilot is a man in his 40s, Iwaya said.
Japan started deploying the expensive U.S.-made F-35s since last year, part of its plan to bolster its defence spending and weapons capability in the coming years to counter potential threats from North Korea and China.
Under guidelines approved in December, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government plans to buy 147 F-35s, including 105 F-35As, costing about 10 billion yen ($90 million) each.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019