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April 25, 2019 | International, Aerospace

US, Japan say they’ll get to F-35 wreckage first – concerns China will reach crash site dismissed

DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN

Top defence officials from the U.S. and Japan say they are confident they'll reach the wreckage of a F-35 stealth fighter jet before China does, even though there are no indications that country is actively searching for the downed plane.

There has been speculation from various media outlets that either Russia or China would seek to recover the parts of the F-35 to better understand its stealth and other technology.

At an April 19 joint news conference the U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan and Japanese Defence Minister Takeshi Iwaya addressed such concerns but dismissed any worries the aircraft would be recovered by any nation other than the U.S. or Japan.

“The Japanese have the lead there, and we're working very collaboratively with them,” Shanahan explained. “And we've got a capability if what they have doesn't prove to be sufficient.”

Shanahan was asked whether he was concerned China could get to the wreckage first. “No, I'm not,” he responded.

Japanese Defence Minister Takeshi Iwaya also expressed confidence. “We don't have such possibility, absolutely no,” he said. “We are conducting surveillance and warning activities so we can identify and find the missing aircraft.”

He was speaking through a translator.

The F-35 crashed in an area in the Pacific Ocean which is estimated to be around 5,000 feet deep. Japan is using a submarine and other vessels to search for the wreckage.

The aircraft went missing on April 9 about 30 minutes after taking off from Misawa air base in northern Japan. The aircraft was flying with three other F-35As in a night training mission. The next day the Japanese military confirmed that the aircraft had crashed and some debris had been recovered.

“This is a very important aircraft, so we would like to locate the aircraft as soon as we can and salvage it,” Iwaya added during the joint news conference. “Japan will lead the investigation, but we're hoping and also it is indispensable to have the support of the U.S. So while we do that, we would like to find the root cause of the accident.”

Pentagon spokesman Charles Summers Jr. told the Air Force Times last week that the crash had not shaken the American and Japanese militaries' faith in the F-35 program. “The U.S., and all F-35 partners, remain fully committed to protecting all F-35 capabilities and technology,” he added.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/us-japan-say-theyll-get-to-f-35-wreckage-first-concerns-china-will-reach-crash-site-dismissed

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