Japan Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

kurutoga said:

It's being reported by all major Japanese news outlets like this:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

The exact wording can be discussed, if the research can continue just giving up domestic production, or R&D is stalled as well.

One has to consider there was not too long ago Japan wants to buy up to 40 F35Bs and upgrade Izumo. This will be the chosen path forward so there is no need to build F3

Click to expand...

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

By RYO AIBARA/ Staff Writer

March 5, 2018 at 15:20 JST

The F-2 fighter jet (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Japan is moving to scrap plans to domestically develop a new advanced fighter jet due to staggering costs and anticipated engineering pitfalls.

The Defense Ministry initially had three possible alternatives for the fighter jet that would replace the F-2 fighter-attacker that will be gradually mothballed from around 2030.

But with China and Russia showing greater military assertiveness in the region, Defense Ministry officials faced the key task of replacing the F-2 with a fighter with more advanced capabilities.

The ministry decided its options were to fully develop the next-generation fighter jet domestically, develop it jointly with other nations, or extend the life of the F-2 through various modifications.

It initially leaned toward domestic development as it was deemed to "be important in maintaining Japan's fighter jet technology," according to a high-ranking defense official.

There were expectations that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. would play a leading role in developing the fighter jet. This was before a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries ran into difficulties developing the Mitsubishi Regional Jet passenger aircraft for commercial production.

Finance Ministry officials eventually urged caution, citing the huge costs that domestic development would entail.

The government began to realize that domestic development of the next-generation fighter jet carried enormous risks.

Against that background, the Defense Ministry will not seek funding for domestic development of a next-generation fighter jet when requests are compiled this summer for the fiscal 2019 budget, sources said.

Tokyo is expected to sound out Washington as early as this week on the prospects of joint development of the next-generation fighter jet.

A decision on how to proceed will likely be formally made between fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2023 as that is the period covered by the Mid-Term Defense Program that will be put together before the end of the year.

It is still possible that Japan will place additional orders with the United States for the advanced stealth F-35A fighter jet manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corp. as the replacement for the F-2.

The government has already decided to purchase 42 stealth fighters to replace the F-4.

In light of pressure being applied by the Trump administration on allies to "Buy American," government officials may also decide to acquire the F-35A as the successor aircraft for the F-2.

The ASDF now has around 200 F-15 fighter jets, 50 F-4s and 90 F-2s. One F-35A fighter jet has been delivered.

The F-2 was jointly developed with the United States and deployed in fiscal 2000.

Click to expand...

SamuraiBlue said:

It's not even a storm in a teacup type situation.
Tell me how long does it take to develop a modern fighter plane from inception to initial production?
F-22, F-35,etc. with all the generation leap technologies took more than a decade.
What DoD, ALTA and JASDF are mulling is what future technologies are probable, possible within a decade and which nation would be most cooperative in going ahead if co-development is chosen as a path in developing the F-3.
It was already mentioned 5,6 years ago that the next fighter will not be ready until in the 2030's. They also floated various future concept technology that should be considered that could be incorporated. Now they are at the point of making the final decision on what is going in and what is going to be thrown out to meet the deadline.

Nothing more.

The F-35As were only stop gaps from the start to replace the already antiquated F-4Js in which there were no way to extend their lifespan further and no replacement on the market.
The only question is the life extension programs for the F-15Js. Will it be enough?
The F-35A block X may be thrown in to replace some F-2 BUT that is because they are for multipurpose fighter roles to shoot ASMs not as air superiority fighters as their main role.
That is the main role for the F-3s.

Click to expand...

Japan is seeking proposals for a new advanced jet fighter based on an existing Western aircraft and wants American and British cooperation to help kick-start development of the project, which is estimated to cost around $40 billion (4 trillion yen), three sources said.

Japan this month issued a third request for information (RFI) to defense companies, seeking proposals for the new aircraft, dubbed the F-3. Unlike the first two requests, this one went only to foreign companies in the United States and Europe, with a separate, more detailed document delivered to London and Washington, according to the sources, who have direct knowledge of the requests.

"Japan expects specific proposals for designs based on existing aircraft," said one of the sources. The two previous RFIs did not attract any detailed proposals, he added.

The requests for a design based on existing aircraft and the separate documents sent to the British and U.S. governments have not been previously reported.

The sources declined to be identified because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

Existing airframes Japan could use include the F-35 Lightning II stealth jet built by Lockheed Martin Corp. or Boeing Co.'s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet; and the Eurofighter Typhoon, manufactured by a European consortium including BAE Systems Plc.

Japan's last domestically produced jet fighter, the F-2, which entered service in 2000, was built jointly by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Lockheed Martin based on the U.S. F-16 multi-role fighter. As Japan's leading fighter maker, MHI, which built the World War II-era A6M Zero, would anchor the Japanese share of the F-3 project.

"We are considering domestic development, joint development and the possibility of improving existing aircraft performance, but we have not yet come to any decision," a Defense Ministry representative said.

Building Japan's next-generation fighter based on a foreign aircraft already in service could save money, but come at the expense of advanced features like stealthy shaping. Neither the Typhoon nor Super Hornet are designed to be near-invisible to radar.

"Boeing is very interested in working with the U.S. and Japan governments in order to collaborate with Japanese industry on the next fighter program,” a Boeing spokesman said.

Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems, Britain's largest defense company, were not immediately available for comment.

Japan's approaches to the U.S. and British government come as Washington considers its replacement for the F-22 Raptor. Britain, which has sought closer security ties to Japan, including cooperation on developing other defense equipment, may eventually need a fighter to succeed the Typhoon.

Japan, which is buying the radar-evading F-35 stealth jet to modernize its air defenses in the face of growing Chinese military strength, wants to introduce a separate air superiority fighter in the 2030s to help deter intrusions into its airspace.

Japan has so far struggled to come up with its own design for a new aircraft, raising a question mark over the country's first jet fighter program since the F-2.

Japan will need begin preliminary talks with Washington soon if it wants to include anything substantial about the F-3 in the new five-year defense equipment plan, which begins in April 2019. Details on that plan will be released at the end of the year, another of the sources said.

Although some Defense Ministry officials and lawmakers have lobbied for a domestically made aircraft to help sustain Japan defense companies hurt by increased spending on U.S. gear, finance officials have questioned whether that is cost effective.

Opting for international cooperation should lower the cost of a new jet by expanding the number of users, spreading the unit cost beyond Japan's air force.

Mitsubishi Heavy tested a prototype stealth jet in 2016, the ATD-X or X-2, which cost the Japanese government $350 million to develop.

Click to expand...

Janiz said:

JS Asahi commisioned today

​

Click to expand...

cplbao said:

Is it me or the SSM90 is missing

Click to expand...

Skywatcher said:

A larger version of the F-35?
Sure, they could also try to upsize the F-22, but if costs killed off the purely domestic F3, then that's not a very promising route to go.

Click to expand...