Japan To Continue Flights Of F-15 Jets

Tokyo, Feb 1: Japan does not intend to suspend flights of Air Self-Defense Forces F-15 fighter jets following the recent incident during which one of the aircraft disappeared from aviation radar, Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said on Tuesday.

A Japanese F-15 fighter jet disappeared from radars shortly after taking off from an airbase in the central prefecture of Ishikawa on Monday afternoon. The fighter with a crew of two pilots was conducting a military exercise and went missing around 08:30 GMT over the Sea of Japan about 3 miles away from the Komatsu Air Base in central Japan.

“We are not planning to suspend any (F-15) flight” as it was a “single accident” on the way to training, Kishi told a press conference in Tokyo, as quoted by the Kyodo News agency. Japanese broadcaster NHK also reported on Tuesday, citing Japanese officials, that the missing F-15 fighter had not sent any rescue signals before it went missing.