Japanese F-16 Lost Cockpit Canopy in Mid-Air While lntercepting a Russian Jet

The Mitsubishi F-2 is Japan’s indigenous fighter jet based on the US F-16 aircraft. It was jointly developed by the two allies for the Japanese Air Self Defense Force. One of the F-2 jets was recently involved in a dramatic mid-air incident during an aerial lnterception. The F-2 is a single-engine multirole fighter jet developed by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and American company Lockheed Martin. An F-2 belonging to the 6th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 8th Air Wing was involved in a peculiar incident during an aerial lnterception on October 10. The fighter jet took off from the base and was on its way to lntercept a foreign aircraft, which could potentially trespass the Japanese air space. Five minutes after the takeoff, as the aircraft was flying over the mountains near the city of Asakura, the F-2’s cockpit canopy and its emergency ladder suddenly fell off from the plane, leaving the pilot exposed to air mid-flight. The canopy was made of aluminum and acrylic glass and had a weight of approxima