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| Airmen | 46,000 (1992 est.)
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| Combat Aircraft | 330 (1992 est.)
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The , or , is the aviation branch of the
Japan Self-Defense Forces responsible for the defense of Japanese
Airspace and other aerospace operations. The JASDF carries out
Combat Air Patrols around
Japan , while also maintaining an extensive network of ground and air early warning
Radar systems. The branch also has an
Aerobatic team known as
Blue Impulse and has recently been involved in providing air transport in several UN peacekeeping missions.
The ASDF had an authorized strength of 47,000 and maintained some 46,000 personnel and approximately 330 combat aircraft in 1992. Front-line formations include three ground-attack squadrons, nine fighter squadrons, one reconnaissance squadron and five transport squadrons.
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Prior to the formation of the
Japanese Self-Defense Forces after
World War II , Japan did not have a separate
Air Force . Aviation operations were carried out by the
Imperial Japanese Army Air Service and the
Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service . Following World War II the
Imperial Japanese Army and
Navy were dissolved and replaced by the JSDF with the passing of the 1954 Self-Defense Forces Law with the JASDF as the aviation branch.
Major units of the ASDF are the Air Defense Command, Flight Support Command, Flying Training Command, Air Developing and Proving Command and Air Matériel Command. The Flight Support Command is responsible for direct support of operational forces in rescue, transportation, control, weather monitoring and inspection. The Flying Training Command is responsible for basic flying and technical training. The Air Developing and Proving Command, in addition to overseeing equipment research and development, is also responsible for research and development in such areas as flight medicine.
The Air Defense Command has northern, central, and western regional headquarters located at
Misawa , Iruma, and Kasuga, respectively and the Southwestern Composite Air Division based at
Naha on
Okinawa . All four regional headquarters control surface-to-air missile units of both the ASDF and the GSDF located in their respective areas.
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After passing an entrance examination, recruits can enter several training programs.
Lower-secondary School graduates are eligible to enter the MSDF's four-year youth
Cadet program to earn upper-secondary school equivalency and
NCO status, or they can undergo twelve-week recruit training courses followed by technical training lasting from five to fifty weeks. Upper-secondary school graduates can also enter either two-year NCO or four-year flight courses. Specialized training is available for all NCOs, as are opportunities to enroll in officer and flight officer candidate courses. Graduates of the four-year
National Defense Academy or four-year universities receive thirty to forty weeks of instruction in officer candidate schools. Advanced technical, flight and command staff officer programs are available for officers.
5 See section 2: "The Self Defense Forces"
The ASDF maintains an integrated network of
Radar installations and
Air Defense direction centers throughout the country known as the Basic Air Defense Ground Environment. In the late 1980s, the system was modernized and augmented with
E-2C airborne earlywarning aircraft.
The nation relies on fighter-
Interceptor Aircraft and
Surface-to-air Missile s to intercept hostile aircraft. Both of these systems were improved from the beginning of the late 1980s. Outmoded aircraft were replaced in the early 1990s with more sophisticated models, and
Nike-J missiles were replaced with new
Patriot systems. Essentially, however, the nation requires the help of United States forces to provide sufficient interceptor capability.
The ASDF also provides air support for ground and sea operations of the
GSDF and the
MSDF and air defense for bases of all the forces. Although support fighter squadrons started being modernized in 1989, they lacked precision-guided weapons for support of ground operations and attacks on hostile ships, and ASDF pilots receive little flight training over oceans to prepare for maritime operations. The ASDF has inadequate base defense capabilities, consisting mainly of outmoded antiaircraft guns and portable shelters to house aircraft. Base defenses were upgraded in the late 1980s with new surface-to-air missiles, modern antiaircraft artillery and new fixed and mobile aircraft shelters.
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