First visit to Vietnam after aircraft carrier modification, Japanese aircraft carrier "Chuyun" visited Vietnam for joint exercises | Okinawa | Aircraft Carrier
The largest battleship of the Japanese Self Defense Force, the Izumo aircraft carrier, is visiting Vietnam.
The "Chuyun" has completed the first phase of aircraft carrier modification.
According to Kyodo News Agency on June 20th, the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force's battleship "Chuyun" docked at the Jinlan Bay International Port in central Vietnam. According to the report, the Self Defense Force's "May Rain" frigate also docked at Jinlan Bay, with a total of about 600 people on board. The two ships are planned to dock until the 23rd and will also engage in exchanges with Vietnamese naval personnel.
According to reports, the "Chuyun" class is striving to be transformed into a true aircraft carrier and plans to carry F-35B stealth fighters. This docking may be intended to constrain China.
![First visit to Vietnam after aircraft carrier modification, Japanese aircraft carrier "Chuyun" visited Vietnam for joint exercises | Okinawa | Aircraft Carrier](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/56068747d55c0aa684ebe5d016e6cbed.jpg)
The "Chuyun" class helicopter carrier developed and built by Japan has a full load displacement of about 27000 tons and uses a through deck similar to that of an aircraft carrier. In December 2018, the Japanese Cabinet passed a new version of the Defense Plan Outline, which included the promotion of the modification of the Chuyun to carry the F-35B vertical fighter jet. Currently, the ship has completed the first phase of carrier modification work.
In the first stage of modification, the "Chuyun" was painted with a yellow marking line that runs through the flight deck from stern to bow, and a heat-resistant coating was laid in the takeoff and landing area. On October 5, 2021, the Japanese Ministry of Defense announced that the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force, with the assistance of the United States, conducted F-35B takeoff and landing tests on the helicopter destroyer "Izumo". This is the first time a Japanese warship has conducted fixed wing aircraft takeoff and landing tests since the end of World War II.
According to Japanese media reports in December last year, the bow deck of the second ship of the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force's "Chuyun" class helicopter carrier, the "Kaga", has been transformed into a square shape. After the transformation, the "Kaga" helicopter carrier can carry up to 12-18 F-35B fighter jets at once. Japan plans to transform its two helicopter carriers, Kaga and Izumo, into aircraft carriers. In 2019, Japan signed an agreement with the United States to purchase 42 F-35B vertical takeoff and landing fighter jets.