Posted on 07/13/2020 8:52:15 AM PDT by Red Badger
Japan Ministry of Defense
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Japan has announced a timeline for a new, unnamed fighter jet to challenge China’s J-20 fighter.
The new, stealthy fighter will enter production in 2031.
The aircraft will replace the aging Mitsubishi F-2 fighter jet, which is based on the American F-16.
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The Japanese government has officially proposed a timeline for a new fighter jet designed to maintain an aerial advantage over potential North Korean and Chinese adversaries. The unnamed fighter, which will be optimized for air-to-air combat, will replace the Mitsubishi F-2 fighter jet, which was originally based on the American F-16 Fighting Falcon. Tokyo expects the new fighter to enter production in 2031.
F-2 fighter of the Japan Air Self Defense Force. TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA
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The plan, according to Defense News, was laid out by Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party. It envisions selecting a prime contractor as soon as October 2020, followed by construction of the first aircraft by 2024. First flight would follow in 2028, followed by production in 2031. The new jet will officially join the Japan Air Self Defense Force, Japan’s air force, in 2035.
Japan had originally planned to replace its fleet of 200 plus F-15J Eagle fighters with the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor but the U.S. Congress, fearing a leak of F-22 technology if the plane were sold abroad, passed a law to prohibit the jet’s export.
Japanese F-35 jets. KAZUHIRO NOGI
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Instead, Japan is purchasing 157 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters and will continue to fly approximately 90 Mitsubishi F-2s. A larger, more robust version of the F-16 first developed in the 1990s, the F-2 will age out in the 2030s when the new jet will take its place. It is unclear how many planes Japan would ultimately build, or whether or not it would be offered on the international fighter market. Given the extreme cost of developing a fighter, Tokyo will probably try to sell as many of the jets overseas as possible.
Chinese J-20 fighters at the Zhuhai Air Show, 2018. WANG ZHAO
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Japan faces armed pressure from its neighbors, among them China, Russia, and North Korea. Japan has territorial disputes with both China and Russia, and Beijing and Moscow regularly fly warplanes near Japanese airspace as a show of force. North Korea, although equipped with an aging and largely obsolete air force, is armed with nuclear weapons and considers Japan an enemy state.
Japan’s X-2 fighter demonstrator in flight, 2016. Kaz Photography
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Japan’s timetable to build the new fighter is ambitious, but it flew a fighter-like technology demonstrator, ATD-X, between 2016 and 2018. According to the Alert 5 blog, it will also receive assistance developing the jet’s turbine engines from the U.K. The early work and foreign assistance should provide a much-needed developmental boost.
Read more at Defense News.
Zero Two Dot Zero?
Stepping stone to the Valkyrie or an Alpha?
Should take down Mothra and Gamera, if the need were to arise.
We all know that if they really want to Japan can manufacture a very formidable fighter.....
It will be interesting to see this plane come into production and be deployed...
[We all know that if they really want to Japan can manufacture a very formidable fighter.....]
lol
We all know that if they really want to Japan can manufacture a very formidable fighter..... For a nation that was feudal a little over 120 yrs ago, they have come a long way, and quickly. Amazing for a mono-ethnic society. We can say the same about China. A lot can also be said, that they can copy ideas and improve them. You design it, make it and they will copy it and sell it for less.
Indeed, the news coverage already indicates that the UK is to help with the engine, which suggests that some version of a Rolls-Royce turbine will power the fighter. In the end, the US will no doubt also help but get a veto as to any foreign sales. In a sense, if actually built, the Japanese fighter will be more a joint Japanese-US-UK project than a solo effort By Japan.
If the Japanese decided to get into the defense business, it would really shake things up.
Wings are kinda short..................
Well, if the Japs have to take out Mothra with that thing those two singing midget babes might have to be collateral damage.
This one is based on the F-18 ?
If it’s any good, we should buy some...
The new jet totally need to transform into a robot.
I hear the name “Redskins” might be up for grabs.
Do they still have “Apache” Helicopters?
Thaks for this post, finally something interesting to read here..
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