"We conduct surveillance of Japan's airspace in the area on a 24/7 basis and maintain readiness for any situation by utilizing all the systems and assets available to us," Col. Hideo Kiyonaga, chief of staff at the headquarters of the Southwestern Air Defense Force, told Breaking Defense.
The US ally currently has the largest number of F-35s on order outside of the United States, with plans for 157 jets split into 105 F-35A Conventional Take Off and Landing (CTOL) aircraft and 42 F-35Bs.
Zero Trust is the Pentagon’s foundation for its modern cybersecurity strategy.
Japan's air force will join the Royal New Zealand Air Force, the Royal Thai Air Force, and the Vietnam Air Defense Air Force flying T-6s in the Indo-Pacific.
“Japan has a strong industrial base, and taking advantage of it for CCA development and production is a win-win-win,” said Mark Gunzinger of the Mitchell Institute.
"When you deal with a partner nation (Japan) you have to learn how they're set up. And, also, in this case there's obviously a language barrier," Lt. Col. Jon "Ghost" White, who commands the 366th Air Base Squadron, told Breaking Defense.
"It's a big acknowledgement that [Low Earth Orbit] is expanding rapidly. It's of national importance. It's of commercial importance. And there's a need to have more eyes on the sky," CEO Dan Ceperley told Breaking Defense in an interview.
Reducing cognitive overload on warfighters while improving “time to trust” for autonomous systems is a matter of design.
Boeing became the first international operator of the KC-46 on Oct. 31.
Japan plans to host an American Space Situational Awareness (SSA) sensor payload on their QZSS satellites. American and Japanese officials are expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding by the end of the year.
The deal for hundreds of new F-35s will drive the cost per airplane below $80 million for the first time.