It seems that Japan is back in the aircraft carrier business after a sixty year hiatus caused by the USN sending all their previous efforts to Davey Jones' Locker. While no Japanese MoD officials have been seen with bundles of F-35B brochures or kicking the tires of Harriers on used fighter lots, tourists are still taking an awful lot of pictures in Pearl Harbor.
(H/T to Insty.)
I'm sure the Chinese are greeting this development with joy.
ReplyDeleteThe "Harrier carriers" wouldn't be scary to a USN naval task force. But they would definitely provide the Japanese Navy a greater ability to perform maritime security missions (patroling key choke points like the Malacca Straits), humanitarian missions (like the post-tsunami operations in Indonesia) or enforcing a blockade of North Korea.
Dammit, if the Japanese can get these, why not us Canadians? We had carriers too! Admittedly, WWII vintage escort class carriers re-equipped with jets. But still. Bring back the _Bonaventure_!Andsr
I like them taking pictures at Pearl Harbor. It helps them remember what happens when they overstep.
ReplyDeleteHaving a strong right arm (or is that the left) in that part of the world wouldn't be that bad of a deal, methinks.
ReplyDeleteMy google-fu is a bit weak this afternoon. The title is the translation of ships' names, right?
ReplyDelete""East Wind, Rain" was one of three possible "execute" messages which Japanese diplomats around the world had been alerted to begin listening for on November 19th. They were told to monitor the regular news and weather broadcasts from Tokyo, just as they always did, but to pay especially careful attention to the phraseology employed to describe the weather."
ReplyDeleteFirst thing I found on Google. Ignore tinfoil on the site.
The first thought that came into my head when I read about Japanese carriers was Climb Mt. Niitaka.
ReplyDeleteThat probably says something about my nature. What that is we'll never know.
"Gentlemen, this news: The Chrysanthmum Fleet has taken to the high seas once more. This time, they are on our side."
ReplyDeleteAh. There go the geek cred points I picked up in the Case White thread. :-p Had I the sense to grab my copy of Jane's Fighting Ships Of WWII while evacuatinig two years ago, I could have spared myself some ebarassment.
ReplyDeletecybr, most people grab a book while evacuating. Not everyone posts about it. I keep Hogg's Handguns right next to the Charmin.
ReplyDeleteThe only good thing about the Washington Treaty is that it gave us some tonnages to violate. At 14,000 tons, these "destroyers" will outweigh the heavy cruisers that were re-classified as battleships. I'm surprised they didn't title them "frigates."