Japan Has Been Operating F-35 Stealth Fighters ‘Missile Free’ For Eight Years – Reports

The Japan Air Self-Defence Forces were reported by U.S. President Donald Trump to have received its first batch of air-to-air missiles to equip its F-35 fifth generation fighters only the last week of October 2025, over eight years after the service received its first F-35s in mid-2017. The statement indicates that the F-35s have been operating without an air-to-air capability for years, raising questions regarding their utility for Japan’s defence. The F-35’s requirement to carry missiles internally to retain its stealth profile, meaning only missile with specially cropped fins can be accommodated, means the fighters cannot employ older types of air-to-air missile when stealth configured. Although the F-35A variant that has made up the bulk of Japanese orders is equipped with a GAU-22/A gatling gun, it carries enough rounds for just four seconds of fire, while misalignment issues meant that the weapon was effectively useless until this was belatedly fixed in March 2024.

The F-35 relies on the AIM-120C and AIM-120D as its primary beyond visual range missiles, and the AIM-9X Block II as its primary visual range armament, although it cannot carry the latter when stealth configured which leaves it potentially highly vulnerable in shorter range engagements. Japan’s fighter fleet has been slow to adopt AIM-120, with many of the F-15 squadrons that still form the backbone of its fleet relying on the older AIM-7 missile long since considered obsolete, while small numbers of indigenous AAM-4 with comparable capabilities to earlier AIM-120 variants. The veracity of President Trump’s claim that Japan has not yet received air-to-air missiles for its F-35s remain in question, with the president having a long record of making highly unusual claims regarding military equipment. In mid-October, for example, he announced an order for an upgraded version of B-2 bomber, which is considered highly unlikely to actually be planned, while he later that month claimed that American aircraft carriers will return to using old steam catapult launch systems which is also not expected to materialise.