Legendary "Phantoms" complete their journey as part of the Japanese Air Defense Forces. Military aviation of the Land of the Rising Sun switches to fifth generation fighters, and the F-4EJ become history.
2020 the year will be the last year of operation of the famous F-4EJ aircraft by the Japanese Air Self-Defense Forces. So, 7 January 2020 of the year, training flights of the last two units took place, which are still armed with the legendary "Phantoms" F-4. We are talking about the 301st Fighter Squadron and 501st Reconnaissance Squadron..
Another unit, 302-I'm a fighter squadron, made her last flight on the Phantoms 19 Martha 2019 of the year, after which she was relocated to the air force base in Misawa, where the squadron will maintain and operate the fifth generation F-35A. 301 Squadron now awaits its turn, which this year will also be transferred to the base in Misawa and transferred to the F-35A.
For a long time, "Phantoms" were a kind of symbol of post-war Japanese aviation.. More than fifty years ago, far away 1968 year, Japan orders F-4EJ fighter from McDonnell. Aircraft production was supposed to begin at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries factories. However, the first 13 aircraft were built by McDonnell and only assembled in Japan. In May 1972 the first aircraft of the Japanese assembly took off. Total Mitsubishi built 127 127 F-4FJ. by the way, first new aircraft in 1972 year received the 301st Fighter Squadron "Hikotai".
Besides, November 1974 June 1975 gg. McDonnell built and shipped to Japan 14 reconnaissance aircraft RF-4EJ. Unlike F-4EJ, mass production of reconnaissance aircraft in Japan was never launched, since the Air Self-Defense Forces did not need a large number of reconnaissance aircraft and the costs of their serial production were considered inexpedient.
The last modernized version of the "Phantom", used in Japan, and became F-4EJ "Kai" («extra»). In the mid-1980s. new impulse Doppler radars AN were installed on the aircraft / APG-66J, central computers, IFF AN systems / APZ-79. Aircraft now have the ability to transfer an advanced multi-mode electronic countermeasure module AN / ALQ-131 and launch of AIM-7E / F Sparrow и AAM-9L / P Sidewinder AAMs (air-to-air missiles).
RF-4EJ "Kai" is an advanced reconnaissance version of the F-4E, which is almost the same as the RF-4C used by the US Air Force, but does not have multiple systems, including a set of radar signals and a warning receiver.
TO 2007 year in operation as part of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force remained about 90 "Phantoms". Then the number of aircraft in operation declined., and when Japan was among the countries - recipients of the new fifth generation aircraft F-35A, it became clear, that the era of the use of "Phantoms" in Japanese military aviation is coming to an end.
video, filmed by Akihiro Kanai, can see, how the pilots of the 301st Fighter Squadron fly in gray F-4EJ "Kai" Phantoms with the unit's emblem - a frog on its tail. На F-4EJ и RF-4E / EJ - pilots of the 501st Reconnaissance Squadron. Its planes are marked with a shark and woodpecker on their tail - the emblem of this aviation unit.. Three types of camouflage are used on aircraft: European on F-4EJ and RF-4E, Vietnamese to RF-4E, blue marine on RF-4E.
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The last flights of Japanese military pilots on "Phantoms" will complete more than forty years of use of these fighters in the Air Self-Defense Force of the Land of the Rising Sun. Now the personnel of the Japanese military aviation has a different task - to master the F-35A and F-35B. Total Tokyo purchased 105 aircraft of the first type and 42 aircraft of the second type.
But it is possible, that these are not the last purchases. Japan is building up its military capabilities under the direct patronage of the United States, who today are more than interested in strengthening the armed forces of their allies in the Asia-Pacific region to confront China and Russia.
Ilya Polonsky
