JASDF Pilots In Arizona

The March 2011 earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan destroyed a number of Japanese Air Self-Defence Force F-2 fighters.

To help compensate for the loss of aircraft, JASDF pilots have begun training with the 162nd Fighter Wing, the Arizona Air National Guard unit in Tucson that is the Guard’s international F-16 training unit. Although there are no F-16s in the JASDF inventory, the F-2 is a derivative of the F-16 and the aircraft are similar.

Tucson also offers training opportunities the pilots do not have in Japan. Instructors at the 162nd FW average more than 2,400 flying hours in the F-16, and as a unit, the wing has graduated more than 2,000 pilots during twenty-three years of international military training.


Source: 11 July 2012 (codeonemagazine.com)

Photo: The JASDF Pilots In Arizona (Photo by MSgt. Dave Neve)

(7/10/2012)