Japan’s ministry of defense is investigating whether it can repair the 18 Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) Mitsubishi F-2 fighters that were damaged by seawater from the March 11 tsunami.

The JASDF’s Matsushima air base in Miyagi prefecture, near the epicenter of Japan’s 9.0 magnitude earthquake, was inundated with seawater from the resulting tsunami, damaging the F-2s and a number of other aircraft, possibly permanently, says Japan’s ministry of defense (MOD). The JASDF ordered a total of 98 F-2s, of which four were left to be delivered as of early March.

The damaged F-2s were all two-seaters and formed a trainer squadron, says a source familiar with the situation. Some were parked on the flight-line and some were inside hangars, but all were damaged by the seawater, the source says. Local news reports say the tsunami that ravaged northeast Japan had waves as high as 33 ft.

“MOD doesn’t know yet if the aircraft can be repaired but it will be difficult to repair because the cockpit and engines were soaked,” the source says. “The priority right now for MOD is the relief effort so we won’t know for a while” whether the aircraft can be repaired, the source adds.

Japan also is grappling with potential nuclear fallout from a power plant damaged by the earthquake and tsunami. This has meant that Japan’s MOD is unlikely to issue a request for proposals (RFP) in March for FX fighters, industry executives say. Japan plans to order 50 fighters to replace its fleet of aging McDonnell Douglas F-4s.

Prior to the earthquake, industry executives had been saying that Japan’s MOD was working to issue the RFP in March. Shigeru Iwasaki, JASDF air staff chief, also told Aviation Week on March 3 that if no RFP was issued this month, it may cause problems because it means there may be too little time to consider proposals and make the recommendation for the procurement to be in Japan’s 2012 budget (Aerospace DAILY, March 3).

One industry executive says the JASDF and MOD are still working to try and issue the RFP in March, but ultimately it is up to the defense minister to make the announcement and issue the RFP. “But the minister is very busy with the relief effort,” the executive says.

Japanese authorities already have disclosed that there are six aircraft on the list for consideration: the Boeing F/A-18, Boeing F-15, Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, Lockheed Martin F-22 and Lockheed Martin F-35.

Photo: USAF