A U.S. fifth-generation fighter jet landed on a Japanese helicopter destroyer this week, bringing Japan one step closer to taking its own advanced stealth fighters to sea.

Short take-off and landing stealth fighters from a US Navy test squadron made the F-35s type's first landing on the JS Kaga - a converted helicopter carrier officially labelled as a multi-functional destroyer by Tokyo and Washington.

Photos show a US F-35B operating on Japan's newly converted destroyer-turned-aircraft carrier off the Californian coast.

The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) reached a milestone in its aircraft carrier capabilities as a U.S. Navy F-35B Lightning II conducted its first landing on the JS Kaga (DDH-184). -The Kaga,

Japan has taken a significant step in bolstering its military power with the launch of its first aircraft carrier since World War II, the JS Kaga. This modernized vessel, originally a helicopter destroyer,

By bno - Tokyo Office In a significant advancement for Japan's naval capabilities, a US military F-35B stealth fighter jet successfully landed on the Japanese destroyer Kaga off the coast of San Diego on October 20.

Japan has remained in a formal state of war with Russia for years due to the dispute over the Kuril Islands. The Kaijō Jieitai, or Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, celebrated the first landing of an F-35B on the deck of the JS Kaga during sea trials off the coast of San Diego.