The Maritime Self-Defense Force has unveiled its Kaga vessel to the media after completing the first stage of work to turn it into a flattop for F-35B stealth fighter jets.
During the two years of work to upgrade the Kaga, the former helicopter carrier's flat deck was coated with heat-resistant paint so it can withstand the exhaust heat from the vertical takeoff and landing fighters set to be acquired by the Defense Ministry. Markings for takeoffs, including a yellow line drawn straight from stern to bow, were painted on the deck.
The shape of its bow was also changed from trapezoid to rectangle to curb the turbulence that occurs when the aircraft hop off, and to secure the safe takeoff distance for them.
The Kaga is one of the two Izumo-class helicopter carriers, the MSDF's biggest vessels. It is 248 meters long and has a standard displacement of 19,950 tons.
"It is the first time for the MSDF to undertake such big (modification) work," Capt. Ichiro Kokubu, the Kaga's commander, told a news conference Monday in the city of Kure in Hiroshima Prefecture.
"We want to contribute to national security by fully utilizing the functions (of the new Kaga)," he stressed.
In the meantime, the other helicopter carrier, the Izumo, is also going through work to accommodate F-35B fighter jets. Its deck has already been made heat-resistant, and modification work for its bow is scheduled to start in the current fiscal year, which runs through next March.
The ministry plans to procure 42 F-35Bs. Of them, the first six will be deployed to the Air SDF's Nyutabaru base in Miyazaki Prefecture by the fiscal year's end.