'Izumo' and her escorts. Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force
Forbes: Japan’s Building Aircraft Carriers, China’s Thinking About Sinking Them
The Japanese navy’s first aircraft carrier in 75 years is almost ready to deploy. A photo that appeared on Twitter on Wednesday depicts the helicopter carrier Izumo undergoing modification for fixed-wing operations, apparently at the Japan Marine United shipyard in Yokohama.
The Chinese military has already considered how it might sink the Japanese carriers. Which is not to say it would succeed.
The $28 million modifications underway at Yokohama will clear and reinforce Izumo’s deck in order to transform the vessel from a helicopter carrier into a light aircraft carrier capable of supporting the Japanese air force’s F-35B stealth jump jets.
Izumo’s sister vessel Kaga is slated to undergo the same modifications.
It’s unclear how many F-35s the two carriers—each 814 feet long and displacing 27,000 tons—might carry. Only a few, perhaps. The U.S. Navy’s own America-class assault ships, each displacing 45,000 tons, each can embark more than a dozen F-35Bs.
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WNU Editor: I do not think it is going to be easy to destroy the Japanese Navy.
