italian warships visit japan, and the two countries' aircraft carriers appear on the same stage for the first time
2024-09-07
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from august 27 to 29, ships from japan, italy, germany, france and australia conducted a series of joint exercises in the southern waters of japan. according to radio france internationale, the joint maritime exercise was led by the japan maritime self-defense force and aimed to enhance the tactical capabilities and multinational cooperation between the participating countries. during the exercise, japan's "izumo" "quasi-aircraft carrier" and italy's "giant cavour" aircraft carrier were on the same stage for the first time, marking the further deepening of the military cooperation between the two countries.
as italy's only aircraft carrier, the cavour set sail from the italian port of taranto on june 1 this year and entered the pacific ocean in early july. previously, the cavour had conducted joint exercises with us warships including the uss lincoln, and then headed north and entered the yokosuka naval port in japan on august 22. according to a press release issued by the japan maritime self-defense force, the cavour is 236 meters long and has about 1,100 officers and soldiers on board. the british "navy news" website pointed out that the italian navy has strengthened its activities in the asia-pacific region in recent years, and last year it sent its latest patrol ship, the "francesco morosini", to visit japan. the cavour's trip to the asia-pacific has added new impetus to the continued strengthening of defense cooperation between rome and tokyo.
the u.s. defense news website said that the japan maritime self-defense force has completed the modification of the izumo and kaga. the two helicopter frigates can now carry u.s.-made f-35b fighters, which is equivalent to an aircraft carrier. previously, japan announced that it would send one of the two warships to the united states for relevant training before the end of this year. italy is also a user of f-35 fighters. during the visit of the cavour to japan, the italian navy announced that its f-35b had formed initial combat capabilities four months ahead of schedule, and could independently perform various tasks including fleet defense, air strikes and suppression of the opponent's air defense firepower. italy has thus become the third country with this capability after the united states and the united kingdom.
a total of eight f-35bs are accompanying the cavour, six of which belong to the italian navy and two from the italian air force. italian navy rear admiral giancarlo ciapina told the japan times that the cavour has invited officers from the japan maritime self-defense force and the japan air self-defense force to visit the ship so that they can get a direct understanding of how the f-35b operates on an aircraft carrier, especially how to fully utilize the aircraft's vertical/short takeoff and landing capabilities. "during their visit, they will observe the f-35b in action," ciapina said. "we are seeking more opportunities for cooperation with our japanese partners."
the italian navy and air force have ordered 15 f-35bs respectively, and the air force has purchased an additional 60 f-35as. the cavour has previously participated in the training of italian air force personnel. japan plans to introduce 42 f-35bs, mainly to serve the two "quasi-aircraft carriers" mentioned above. given that the full load displacement of the cavour and the izumo is about 27,000 tons and their technical and tactical performance are similar, the practical experience of the italian navy is of great reference value to its japanese counterparts.
"we are talking about ships and aircraft from different countries that, if necessary, can work together as if they were from the same force," italian defense minister guido crosetto told the japan times, adding that the cavour's visit to the pacific was not targeted, "we are just trying to deepen our relationship with our partner countries."
for japan, the country has been eager to rebuild its carrier-based aviation force, and the f-35b will become its first fixed-wing carrier-based aircraft since world war ii. the "defense news" website pointed out that last year, the japanese defense department sent a delegation to visit the british navy's "prince of wales" aircraft carrier to observe the training of the same type of british aircraft. it is worth noting that in addition to cooperation in the field of naval aviation, japan, italy and the united kingdom are also jointly developing the world's first sixth-generation fighter.
source: china youth daily client
