The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II has been one of my long term favorite fighters since I was a kid. It has become an old horse with many different countries but finally, even the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) is finally retiring them. The Japan F-4EJ Phantoms will be replaced by the the F-35A Lightning II, a formidable fifth-generation fighter from the US.
In preparation for the retirement, you are starting to see more vloggers post videos of the last days for the F-4 in Japan. Below are some good videos.
The Paradise of Phantoms F-4 & RF-4
One of my favorite Japan F-4EJ videos. I was wondering what happened to the deployed parachutes after the plane stopped. In the video you got to see an airman grabbing the parachute.
Goodbye 302sq F-4 OJIRO PHANTOMS 302 F-4
You can get a feeling that these planes will be missed by Japanese aviation enthusiasts.
JASDF F-4EJ(mod) Scramble Demo
One of the videos I enjoyed watching in the past. Look how fast the pilots and crew can get an F-4EJ up and running.
RF-4
This is the last video of Japan RF-4s. No reports if this plane has been replaced yet.
Oddly enough, maybe due to the recent crash, you do not see many videos of the new Japan ASDF F-35 yet.