The March 2011 earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan destroyed a number of Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-2 fighters. To help compensate for the loss of aircraft, JASDF pilots have begun training with the 162nd Fighter Wing, the Arizona Air National Guard unit in Tucson that serves as the Guard’s international F-16 training unit. Although there are no F-16s in the JASDF inventory, the F-2 is a derivative of the F-16 and the aircraft are similar. Tucson also offers training opportunities the pilots do not have in Japan. Instructors at the 162nd FW average more than 2,400 flying hours in the F-16, and as a unit, the wing has graduated more than 2,000 pilots during twenty-three years of international military training.
