This aircraft participated in the static display at the Komaki AB Air Festival and is pictured here taxying out for departure home at the conclusion of the show.

Photographed taxying in after completing her display at the Gifu AB Air Festival 2009.

60th Anniversary F-2A from 3 Hikotai at Misawa AB

Although based on and similar in appearance to the Lockheed Martin F-16, Japan's F-2A is substantially bigger. 94 production aircraft were built but 12 were lost in the 2011 tsunami at Misawa AB in the north. Tsuiki in the far south is the only other base housing an F-2A unit, 6 Hikotai. Two of their aircraft are seen here taxiing back in on the quay where runway 07 extends out into the water

Mixed feelings when seeing an F-16-lookalike as successor to some unique types. Hiko Kaihatsu Jikkendan, the test & evaluation unit, kept this prototype as a testbed at Gifu.

The F-2 program, which ended in Sept 2011, was controversial because the unit cost was roughly four times that of the F-16 on which it was based. This is despite a 40/60% cost sharing split between the USA and Japan. An impressive machine to see anyway