
A specially configured U.S. F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) Lightning II aircraft for the first time touched down on a Japanese naval vessel over the weekend for the start of developmental testing between the two allies. The F-35 was specially instrumented and landed aboard the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force’s Izumo-class multi-functional destroyer JS Kaga (DDH-184) off the coast of Southern California on Oct. 20. While the Kaga is officially called a type of destroyer, it is Japan’s…