US fighter jet crashes off Japan's Okinawa, crew rescued
A US navy fighter jet crashed into the sea off Japan's southern island of Okinawa on 12 November and its two crew members were rescued alive, Japan's defence ministry said.
The F/A-18 Hornet jet crashed some 250km east-southeast of Okinawa's capital city Naha at around 11:45 am local time, said Osamu Kosakai, spokesman for the ministry's Okinawa defence bureau.
Its two crew members ejected and were rescued by a US military helicopter, he told AFP, adding the accident was ‘not life-threatening’.
The fighter jet crashed ‘due to engine trouble,’ he said.
Japan's coastguard ‘dispatched an aircraft to the waters to see if there is any debris or floating oil’, a coastguard spokesman told AFP.
Okinawa accounts for less than one percent of Japan's total land area, but hosts more than half of the approximately 47,000 American military personnel stationed in Japan.
For decades, Okinawa residents have asked for some of the bases to be moved, with resentment growing after a string of accidents and crimes committed by US military personnel and base workers.
More from Defence Notes
-
![Top-level commitments but no meat in UK Defence Industrial Strategy’s Statement of Intent]()
Top-level commitments but no meat in UK Defence Industrial Strategy’s Statement of Intent
The initial document focused more on creating the right partnerships and inspiring investment in defence than on any details of how future UK Armed Forces would be armed.
-
![UK begins process on new industrial strategy]()
UK begins process on new industrial strategy
The first stage of developing a new UK Defence Industrial Strategy has highlighted failings in current structures with solutions expected to be proposed in next year’s full strategy.
-
![Romanians put pro-Russian candidate into presidential runoff even as the government spends west]()
Romanians put pro-Russian candidate into presidential runoff even as the government spends west
Romania joined NATO more than two decades ago and the country is vital to the alliance’s geographic reach and its ability to supply Ukraine with weapons.
-
![What the future holds for Ukraine and NATO under a Trump administration]()
What the future holds for Ukraine and NATO under a Trump administration
Although Trump’s geopolitics policy for Europe remains unclear, defence analysts from the US and Europe predict how his incoming administration would attempt to handle critical issues on the continent.
-
![RUSI deputy: UK needs longer procurement plans and improved awareness of US sift to Indo-Pacific]()
RUSI deputy: UK needs longer procurement plans and improved awareness of US sift to Indo-Pacific
The UK budget announced in Parliament on 30 October was the first by a Labour government in 14 years which has also launched a review into defence procurement programmes.
