Koku jieitai
Aeronautics in Japan since World War II to today
of Christian Martorella
January 10, 2010. The Air Self-Defense Force of Japan (Japan Air Self Defense Force, JASDF), Koku jieitai in Japanese, was born in 1954 with American assistance and materials. Initially based on antiquated aircraft from the United States, such as the North American F-86 Sabre and Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star, was later consolidated by the local production of modern aircraft. In the '60s
interceptor main Japanese air force was the Lockheed F-104J Eiko. The F-104J, named Eiko (Gloria) by the Japanese, were built by Mitsubishi and Kawasaki. The first department to receive the interceptor was the F-104J 201 Hikotai in November 1962. The Japanese versions the total of 210 specimens were Starfighter F-104J and 20 of the two-seater F-104DJ. The F-104J fighter interceptor Eiko was a development of the F-104G, optimized for combat aircraft with radar Nasarre F-15-J31, the J79-IHI-11A reactor, and armed with four air-to-air Sidewinder missiles. The air cover
of Japan was thus assigned to the F-104J, which had respectable performance, with a maximum speed of 1845 km / h at 15000 m, which reached Mach 2 in a clean configuration, an initial rate of climb of 254 m / s and an altitude of 15,240 m. tangency practice A locally built jet
the project was completely Japanese Fuji T-1 Hatsutaka of the trainer, who flew for the first time on 8 January 1958. The industries were the heirs of the Fuji factory Nakajima (Nakajima Hikoki Kabushikigaisha), famous for the construction of the best fighters, bombers and torpedo planes used in World War II. Fuji T-1F1 was a two-seat trainer monoplane with a pressurized cabin, equipped with a propulsion system consisting of Ishikawajima-Harima Japanese turbojet J3-IHI-3 from 1200 kg of thrust, replaced by a model J3-IHI-7 from 1400 version Fuji T-1F3. The performance of this jet trainer were satisfactory, with a speed of 920 km / h, operating a tangent of 16000 m, and a range of 1935 km with external tanks. This allows most of the Fuji T-1 were still operating in the 80s before being replaced gradually from the most modern jet aircraft.
In 1973 Japan had provided the first McDonnell Douglas F-4EJ. The heavy and powerful F-4 Phantom fighter-bomber was used in Japan for a total of 140 specimens. The McDonnell gave them 10 copies, whereas 130 were built by Mitsubishi, which ended production in 1981. The F-4EJ version was a variant of the F-4E that could reach a speed of 2390 km / h or Mach 2.25. Equipped with a radar APQ-120, the McDonnell F-4E was armed with four air-to-air missiles AIM-7 Sparrow radar-guided, and could also be mounted on underwing pylons air-air missiles AIM-9 Sidewinder infrared-guided, while in muzzle of a cannon was installed pipe 20 mm M61A1 rotary. A
other aircraft locally manufactured fighter was the Mitsubishi F-1 first flew June 3, 1975. Mitsubishi T-2 derived by the trainer, whose first flight was in July 1971, was inspired by the project francobritannico SEPECAT Jaguar. The Mitsubishi F-1 fighter was equipped with two turbofan Ishikawajima-Harima TF40-IHI-801A from 3570 kg of thrust each with afterburner, maximum weight of 13.6 tonnes, maximum speed of 1700 km / h or Mach 1.6 and a range of 2595 km. The armament consisted of a vast arsenal of missiles, bombs and rockets, including air-to-surface missile Mitsubishi ASM-1.
The Japanese air force made a quantum leap in the '80s, when pilots were getting the most advanced fighters of the time: the McDonnell Douglas F-15J Eagle. The performance of this interceptor were excellent, with a maximum speed of 2600 km / h and a maximum range of 4630 km and a payload of 7528 kg. Japan made a major program based on the powerful and flexible interceptor. In fact, were built under license, since 1980, a total of 223 specimens of F-15J. The first F-15J delivered to Koku jieitai was deployed in 1981. Eagle
The Japanese were later joined by another good plane, the Mitsubishi F-2, a fighter derived from the General Dynamics F-16. The prototype of the Mitsubishi F-2 had flown October 7, 1995, and despite some delays, the first batch of aircraft was delivered in 2002. The construction, based on the model F-16, had a longer fuselage and covered with radar absorbing material, and wing surfaces were an innovative development with the use of composite materials. The F-2 fighter weighs about 22 tons, a maximum speed of 2200 km / h, a maximum altitude of 20,000 m, and a load up to 9000 kg on 11 external pylons.
Finally, the Japanese Air Force had provided, from 11 March 1998, the aircraft radar at the time the most modern and advanced: the Boeing E-767 AWACS. This plane could control an area that ranged from 320 to 500 km radius, with a range of 10370 km, providing a wide area monitoring and coordinating the activity of the interceptor.
This is a brief history of the JASDF (Japan Air Self Defense Force), the Koku jieitai, an heir of a major military aviation tradition that reflects the strict limits imposed by politics, and fortunately, there seems to be a potential aggressive but only a defensive deterrent.
