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Koku jieitai

Article Aeronautics blog published by The Japanese military history of Japan [lastoriadelgiappone.blogspot.com].

Koku jieitai
Aeronautics in Japan since World War II to today
Cristiano Martorella

January 10, 2010. The Air Self-Defense Force of Japan (Japan Air Self Defense Force, JASDF), Koku jieitai in Japanese, was born in 1954 with American assistance and materials. Initially based on antiquated aircraft from the United States, such as the North American F-86 Sabre and Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star, was later consolidated by the local production of modern aircraft. In the '60s
interceptor main Japanese air force was the Lockheed F-104J Eiko. The F-104J, named Eiko (Gloria) by the Japanese, were built by Mitsubishi and Kawasaki. The first department to receive the interceptor was the F-104J 201 Hikotai in November 1962. The Japanese versions of the Starfighter furono in totale 210 esemplari di F-104J e 20 del biposto F-104DJ. Il caccia intercettore F-104J Eiko era uno sviluppo del modello F-104G, ottimizzato per il combattimento aereo con il radar NASARR F-15-J31, il reattore J79-IHI-11A, e armato con quattro missili aria-aria Sidewinder.
La protezione aerea del Giappone era così affidata agli F-104J che avevano rispettabili prestazioni, con una velocità massima di 1845 km/h a 15000 m, che arrivava a Mach 2 in configurazione pulita, una velocità iniziale di salita di 254 m/s, e una quota di tangenza pratica di 15240 m.
Un aviogetto costruito localmente fu il progetto completamente nipponico dell'addestratore Fuji T-1 Hatsutaka, che volò per la prima volta l'8 gennaio 1958. Le industrie Fuji were the heirs of the factory Nakajima (Nakajima Hikoki Kabushikigaisha), famous for the construction of the best fighters, bombers and torpedo planes used in World War II. Fuji T-1F1 was a two-seat trainer monoplane with a pressurized cabin, equipped with a propulsion system consisting of Ishikawajima-Harima Japanese turbojet J3-IHI-3 from 1200 kg of thrust, replaced by a model J3-IHI-7 from 1400 version Fuji T-1F3. The performance of this jet trainer were satisfactory, with a speed of 920 km / h, operating a tangent of 16000 m, and a range of 1935 km with external tanks. This allows most of the Fuji T-1 were still operating in the 80s, before being gradually replaced by more modern jet aircraft.
In 1973 Japan had provided the first McDonnell Douglas F-4EJ. The heavy and powerful F-4 Phantom fighter-bomber was used in Japan for a total of 140 specimens. The McDonnell gave them 10 copies, whereas 130 were built by Mitsubishi, which ended production in 1981. The F-4EJ version was a variant of the F-4E that could reach a speed of 2390 km / h or Mach 2.25. Equipped with a radar APQ-120, the McDonnell F-4E was armed with four air-to-air missiles AIM-7 Sparrow radar-guided, and could also be mounted on underwing pylons air-air missiles AIM-9 Sidewinder infrared-guided, while in muzzle of a cannon was installed pipe 20 mm M61A1 rotary. Another aircraft
di fabbricazione locale fu il cacciabombardiere Mitsubishi F-1 che volò la prima volta il 3 giugno 1975. Derivato dall'addestratore Mitsubishi T-2, il cui primo volo risale al luglio 1971, era ispirato al progetto francobritannico SEPECAT Jaguar. Il cacciabombardiere Mitsubishi F-1 era dotato di due turboreattori a doppio flusso Ishikawajima-Harima TF40-IHI-801A da 3570 kg di spinta ciascuno con postbruciatore, peso massimo di 13,6 t, velocità massima di 1700 km/h o Mach 1,6 e un'autonomia di 2595 km. L'armamento era costituito da un vasto arsenale di missili, bombe e razzi, fra cui il missile aria-superficie Mitsubishi ASM-1.
L'aeronautica militare giapponese fece un salto di qualità negli anni '80, quando i piloti ebbero la possibilità to obtain the most advanced fighters of the time: the McDonnell Douglas F-15J Eagle. The performance of this interceptor were excellent, with a maximum speed of 2600 km / h and a maximum range of 4630 km and a payload of 7528 kg. Japan made a major program based on the powerful and flexible interceptor. In fact, were built under license, since 1980, a total of 223 specimens of F-15J. The first F-15J delivered to Koku jieitai was deployed in 1981. Eagle
The Japanese were later joined by another good plane, the Mitsubishi F-2, a fighter derived from the General Dynamics F-16. The prototype of the Mitsubishi F-2 had flown October 7, 1995, and despite some delays, the first batch of aircraft was delivered in 2002. The construction, based on the model F-16, had a longer fuselage and covered with radar absorbing material, and wing surfaces were an innovative development with the use of composite materials. The F-2 fighter weighs about 22 tons, a maximum speed of 2200 km / h, a maximum altitude of 20,000 m, and a load up to 9000 kg on 11 external pylons.
Finally, the Japanese Air Force had provided, from 11 March 1998, the aircraft radar at the time the most modern and advanced: the Boeing E-767 AWACS. This plane could control an area that ranged from 320 to 500 km radius, with a range of 10370 km, providing a wide area monitoring and coordinating the activities dei caccia intercettori.
Questa è in breve la storia della JASDF (Japan Air Self Defense Force), la Koku jieitai, una forza militare erede di un'importante tradizione aeronautica che risente dei severi limiti imposti dalla politica, e per fortuna, non sembra costituire un potenziale aggressivo ma soltanto un deterrente difensivo.