Japan’s massive Izumo-class helicopter destroyers could potentially be refitted to carry the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter. That is the U.S. Marines’ version of the F-35 that has short take-off and vertical landing capability. The possibility of this happening was something many observers speculated about when the first Izumo ship was unveiled in 2013. At that time, some began to call it an “aircraft carrier in disguise.” It wasn’t difficult to see why: the Izumos are roughly 250 meters (820 feet) long and displace twenty-four thousand tons. That makes them about 50 percent bigger (in terms of displacement) than Japan’s previously largest ship, the Hyuga-class helicopter destroyer. Others have pointed out that the ships are actually larger than Spain and Italy’s short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft carriers. The Izumos were also built with a hanger that can handle fixed-wing aircraft. More Information: https://goo.gl/SEr2kv