Japanese fighter jet goes missing after take-off

Contact with jet lost over Sea of Japan

File: A Japanese Air Self Defence Force F-15 fighter jet (REUTERS)

An F-15 fighter jet belonging to the Japanese military has gone missing after take-off from the Komatsu airbase in central Japan, the country’s defence ministry said.

The aircraft disappeared from radar at around 5.30pm local time over the Sea of Japan, five kilometres west-northwest from the airbase. The twin-engine combat jet was conducting training at the time and reportedly had two people on board.

According to Kyodo News, the Kanazawa Coast Guard Office said it received a call reporting a red glow off the coast of Kaga city in southwestern Ishikawa province around the same time.

The defence ministry suspects the jet may have crashed, but an official said they were still in the process of investigating the disappearance.

The F-15 is described as an all-weather air superiority fighter and represents one of the key aircraft in the country’s air force, the Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF).

In a deal approved by the US State Department late last year, Japan has awarded Boeing a $470 million (£349 million) contract to upgrade 98 of its F-15J Eagles into F-15 Super Interceptors.

It comes amid heightened tensions in the region with China and North Korea, the latter of which has conducted seven major missile test launches in the first month of 2022 alone.