By Logan Williams, Warrior Contributor
As a way to deter China, better prepare for island-hopping kinds of amphibious warfare contingencies and the need to project 5th-generation air power at Sea, the Japanese Maritime Defense Force has retroffitted and launched the JS Kaga, a destroyer turned amphibious assault ship, which was specifically outfitted with the F-35B in mind. Warrior details the arrival of Japan’s new mini-carrier in a recent article, an essay which describes some of the concepts of operation informing the ship’s emergence.
The new JS Kaga, along with Japan’s large multi-billion F-35 purchase, is a key element of how Japan’s ruling party has requested the largest defense budget in the island nation’s recent history, at least since World War Two. Japan has become the largest international customer for the F-35B platform.
The F-35B has a top speed of Mach 1.6, an after-burning thrust of 43,000 lbs, a max take-off weight of 60,000 lbs (reduced due to STO/VL functionality, the A & C variants have a max take-off of 70,000 lbs), and most importantly, a radar signature (a.k.a, radar cross-section) of 0.0015m2 at the “stealthiest.” Conversely, the F-16 is faster, with a top speed of Mach 2, although the F-35 outperforms the F-16 in nearly every other metric. The F-22, as the U.S. military’s premier air superiority fighter, has a radar cross section of .00015m2, which means that at its “stealthiest,” the F-22 has the same radar signature as a marble or a bumble bee.
Yet, these raw metrics can obscure the true ingenious of the F-35 platform.
It would be baseless to compare the F-22 to the F-35, as a measure of the performance of the F-35 platform, because the F-22 is similarly a fifth-generation aircraft designed with much of the same technologies of the F-35, but with a vastly different purpose than the F-35, in mind. The F-22 was designed as an air-to-air fighter aircraft, its singular purpose is to seize and maintain air superiority, as such, the F-22 is the “stealthiest” aircraft in the United States’ arsenal, second only to the still-in-development B-21 Raider, the successor to the B-2 stealth bomber, which is expected to have an even smaller radar cross-section despite the present lack of data, and which conducted its first test flight on 10 November 2023.
If you are looking to establish an impenetrable no-fly zone, and down enemy aircraft long before they even know that you are there (beyond-visual-range targets — BVR), the F-22 is the plane for the job; if you are looking for any other functionality, turn to the F-35. It is important to note that the F-22 is so specialized and dangerous that Congress has banned its export, even to friendly nations. It is also important to note that the F-35 is far cheaper than the F-22, the former which has a per-unit production (“fly-away”) cost of approximately $70 million (similar to that of the F/A-18E/F), and the latter which has a “fly-away” cost of double that, at approximately $143 million. Unfortunately, during the United States’ wars in the Middle East, airspace dominance was hardly a concern, so F-22 production was hindered by a re-prioritization of attack aircraft and multi-role fighters (fighter with sufficient air-to-ground attack functionality), and the F-16 as well as the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet became the backbone of the U.S. jet fleet. The F-16 is still the most common aircraft in the U.S. military, making up just under 10% of the U.S. military’s aircraft arsenal.
The F-35 outclasses all other multi-role fighters, foreign and domestic.
The F-35 was designed to replace the F-16, the F/A-18, and the A-10 as the universal, multi-role fighter of the U.S. military. It is drastically more efficient to operate a single multi-role fighter throughout all of the service-branches; instead of operating with three “backbones” so-to-speak, with the F/A-18E/F as the fighter of choice for the Marine Corps tactical aviation needs (due to the F/A-18E/F’s aircraft carrier landing functionality), the F-16 as the choice for most U.S. Air Force fighter jet needs, and the A-10 for subsonic flight and close-air-support missions.
Furthermore, regardless of the efficiency, the F-35 far outperforms the F-16 and the F/A-18E/F. The F-16 might be slightly faster than the F-35, but this also indicates its greatest weakness; the F-16 has a max take-off weight of approximately 40,000 lbs, and an internal fuel capacity of just 7,000 lbs, which adds up to a relatively limited combat range of approximately 300 miles. In order for the F-16 to be an effective fighter, it requires a vast network of a multitude of land-bases from which to take off and land — that is decidedly not the case for the United States in the Indo-Pacific. The single advantage of the F-16, if it has any advantages, is its relatively low cost — “fly-away” cost starts around $20 million.
The F/A-18E/F performs slightly better compared to the F-16, but is still massively outclassed by the F-35. The F/A-18E/F has a maximum speed of Mach 1.6 and a max takeoff weight of 66,000 lbs, much like the F-35, however, the F/A-18E/F has an internal fuel capacity of only about 14,000 lbs — compared to F-35’s capacity of approximately 18,000 lbs. The result is that the F/A-18E/F has a combat range of approximately 500 miles, compared to the F-35’s approximate 1,200 miles. The limitations of the F/A-18E/F were assuaged by the fact that it is aircraft carrier compatible, and thus, does not require the extensive land bases needed for the F-16.
Even in the F-35B STO/VL configuration – the aircraft purchased by Japan for the JS Kaga – which requires a reduction in a number of metrics to accommodate STO/VL and aircraft carrier-basing, the F-35B still outperforms its multi-role fighter predecessors. In the F-35B STO/VL variant, the internal fuel capacity is reduced from 18,000 lbs to approximately 13,000 lbs, the maximum weapons payload is reduced from 18,000 lbs to approximately 15,000 lbs, and the maximum take-off weight is reduced from 70,000 lbs to 60,000 lbs — all values almost identical to that of the F/A-18E/F. Yet, the combat range in the F-35B is only reduced from approximately 1200 miles, to 900 miles — still just under twice the range of the F/A-18E/F and approximately three-times that of the F-16.
The most remarkable characteristics of the F-35 platform aren’t found in the afore-mentioned metrics, however, it is the technology which makes the F-35 a true fifth-generation fighter. It is important to clarify that, while the F-35 is a fifth-generation fighter, it hosts third-generation stealth technology — as in, the latest stealth technology since the United States began to seek planes with reduced radar cross-sections in the 1960s This is an exceptionally important distinction, because the vast majority of states have yet to produce a first generation of stealth technology, and the United States’ has produced its third and is well-engaged in researching its fourth generation.
The first generation of U.S. “stealth” aircraft, as in aircraft specifically designed to reduce radar cross-section, is typi
fied by the Lockheed A-12 and the better known Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, which entered service in the 1960s. These aircraft are believed to have had a radar cross-section ranging under 1 m2 but greater than 0.1 m2 (the commonly cited threshold for a jet to be considered a modern stealth aircraft). The second generation of stealth aircraft produced the United States’ F-117 Nighthawk, an attack aircraft introduced in the 1980s, with a radar cross-section of 0.269 ft2 (.025 m2), and the B2 stealth bomber , reportedly with a radar cross-section of 0.1 m2. The F-35 and the F-22 are both considered the third generation of stealth technology with radar cross-sections of 0.0015m2 and 0.00015m2, respectively.
Additionally, the F-35 incorporates artificial intelligence, called sensor data fusion, which revolutionizes the way in which pilots receive and process information in the cockpit. This AI is able to perform certain key procedural functions autonomously, such as adjusting radar frequencies and responding to some in-flight maintenance or hardware issues. This AI can also rapidly perform threat identification as well as target prioritization, and provide more accurate information by discerning between and merging data produced by various different sensors, and by displaying a single cohesive array of information for the pilot — significantly reducing the work and information processing that a pilot has to complete before making a split-second decision in the cockpit. The data collected from each F-35 in operation is pooled through a central network, to ensure that it is available for all other F-35s in operation. These technologies ensure that the F-35, and thus the United States, remain at the forefront of artificial intelligence research and militarization.
What makes the F-35 so desirable?
Most importantly, viewing the F-35 through a geopolitical lens, the F-35 far outperforms its nearest foreign competitor. China’s J-20 stealth fighter is estimated to have a radar cross-section which is at minimum equivalent to that of the F-117 Nighthawk, which fully retired from active service in the U.S. military in 2008. The J-20 has a combat range of over 1,000 miles, and a maximum speed of Mach 2, with a maximum take-off weight of approximately 80,000 lbs. These metrics indicate that the J-20 is a formidable fighter jet, but it is in no way comparable to the United States’ stealth technology found on the F-35.
The next closest competitor, the Russian Su-57, is said to have a radar cross-section ranging from 1m2 to 0.1 m2, approximately equal to the United States’ first attempts at stealth aircraft in the 1960s, or to the radar cross-section of some fourth generation fighter jets, not commonly understood to be stealth fighters. With a maximum speed of Mach 2, a maximum take-off weight of close to eighty pounds, and a range of nearly 2,000 miles, the Su-57 is as much a formidable fighter jet as the Chinese J-20, but it cannot be qualified as a true stealth aircraft.
Not only is the F-35 one of the the first multi-role fighters in the U.S. military to possess stealth technology, it is presently the most stealthy multi-role fighter in the world, and every other plane with greater stealth capabilities is either possessed by the United States (e.g., the F-22), or is presently being researched by U.S. defense corporations. No other state has come anywhere close to the advancement of the United States’ domestic stealth aircraft technology, and likely, no state will be able to for quite some time.
By fielding over forty F-35 fighter jets, Japan is making itself a serious geopolitical competitor in the Indo-Pacific airspace, and it is catapulting to a position as one of the top air forces in the world. By adding these fifth generation fighters to the JS Kaga, Japan drastically increases its effective range for power projection. More importantly, Japan’s status as the largest foreign customer for the F-35 signals its intent to play a significant role in any future conflict with China, and the F-35 ensures that Japan will have the power and capabilities necessary to play such a role. Finally, by investing in the F-35, a versatile multi-role fighter, states – like Japan – which haven’t the political will the desire, or the ability to develop a 14,000 plane-strong air force, such as the USAF, are able to build the backbone of their air defense strategy off of a singular platform — no other fighter in production offers this functionality.
Logan Williams is a writer and researcher currently studying at the University of Connecticut. He is pursuing research regarding Ukrainian history and national identity, hegemonic theory, the Cold War, and international development/liberalization processes. Mr. Williams’ work has been published in newspapers, magazines, and journals, such as:, Geopolitics Magazine, Modern Diplomacy, The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, Democracy Paradox, Diario Las Américas, International Affairs Forum, Fair Observer, History Is Now Magazine, American Diplomacy, etc.
