Japan F-35 fighter disappears over Pacific

TOKYO: A Japanese F-35 stealth fighter jet with one pilot on board disappeared from radar while on a training mission over the Pacific on Tuesday night, the defence ministry said.

The fighter jet went missing at around 7:30 pm (1030 GMT) as it was flying some 135 kilometres (84 miles) east of Misawa, northeastern Japan, a ministry spokesperson said.

It was not immediately clear if it had it crashed, the spokeswoman said, adding: "We are still trying to search for the aircraft."
The fate of the pilot was not immediately clear.

The plane lost contact about 30 minutes after taking off from Misawa Air Base, public broadcaster NHK said.

今夜、青森県三沢市沖の太平洋上で航空自衛隊の最新鋭の戦闘機、Ｆ35Ａの機影がレーダーから消え、航空自衛隊が詳しい状況の確認を急いでいます。
（映像はＦ35Ａの資料映像 三沢基地 去年１月撮影）https://t.co/79oe5QhKws pic.twitter.com/8fS4VfOWxh

— NHKニュース (@nhk_news) April 9, 2019

The Self-Defence Forces and coastguard dispatched vessels to carry out rescue operations, NHK added.