Japan's stealth fighter on schedule
Source: Agencies |
March 9, 2011, Wednesday
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JAPAN is looking to have a stealth fighter that senior Japanese air force officials say can be ready for a prototype test flight in just three years, significantly upping the ante in the intensifying battle for air superiority in the Pacific.
The prototype will likely be able to fly in 2014, said Lieutenant General Hideyuki Yoshioka, director of air systems development at Japan's Ministry of Defense.
He said Japan has put 39 billion yen (US$473 million) into the project since 2009, after it became clear the United States was not likely to sell it the F-22 "Raptor" - America's most advanced fighter jet - because of a congressional export ban.
"We are two years into the project, and we are on schedule," Yoshioka said.
Yoshioka stressed that a successful test flight of the prototype, dubbed "Shinshin," or "Spirit," does not mean Japan will immediately start producing stealth aircraft. The prototype is designed to test advanced technologies, and if it is successful the government will decide in 2016 how to proceed.
Japan is feeling the pressure of a regional dogfight over fighter superiority.
"If the countries surrounding Japan have stealth capabilities, Japan will need to develop those capabilities itself to ensure our own defense," said Colonel Yoshikazu Takizawa of the Defense Ministry's Technical Research and Development Institute.
Japan relies to a large degree for its defense on its alliance with the United States, which has a significant number of fighters and other aircraft, along with some 50,000 troops, stationed around the Japanese archipelago.
But that alliance, and Japan's relatively deep pockets, did not prove convincing enough for Tokyo to get the coveted F-22. US Congress repeatedly squashed the idea due to fears that the F-22 contained too much secret technology to share with even Washington's closest friends.
"Japan wanted the F-22, but Congress didn't agree to that," Yoshioka said. "We realized that it was important for us to develop our domestic capabilities."
Russia's new fighter, the Sukhoi T-50, took to the air last year. It is being jointly developed with India's air force. The T-50 is seen not only as a boost to Russian air power - which is of concern to Japan because of a lingering dispute over islands both claim in the north Pacific - but also as a strong indication it wants to sell more top-of-the-line fighters abroad.
Japan's air force is aging.
Tokyo wants to replace its old F-4EJ and F-15 fighters with more current aircraft, most likely the US-built F-35 Joint Strike Aircraft or F/A-18, or the Eurofighter "Typhoon."
The prototype will likely be able to fly in 2014, said Lieutenant General Hideyuki Yoshioka, director of air systems development at Japan's Ministry of Defense.
He said Japan has put 39 billion yen (US$473 million) into the project since 2009, after it became clear the United States was not likely to sell it the F-22 "Raptor" - America's most advanced fighter jet - because of a congressional export ban.
"We are two years into the project, and we are on schedule," Yoshioka said.
Yoshioka stressed that a successful test flight of the prototype, dubbed "Shinshin," or "Spirit," does not mean Japan will immediately start producing stealth aircraft. The prototype is designed to test advanced technologies, and if it is successful the government will decide in 2016 how to proceed.
Japan is feeling the pressure of a regional dogfight over fighter superiority.
"If the countries surrounding Japan have stealth capabilities, Japan will need to develop those capabilities itself to ensure our own defense," said Colonel Yoshikazu Takizawa of the Defense Ministry's Technical Research and Development Institute.
Japan relies to a large degree for its defense on its alliance with the United States, which has a significant number of fighters and other aircraft, along with some 50,000 troops, stationed around the Japanese archipelago.
But that alliance, and Japan's relatively deep pockets, did not prove convincing enough for Tokyo to get the coveted F-22. US Congress repeatedly squashed the idea due to fears that the F-22 contained too much secret technology to share with even Washington's closest friends.
"Japan wanted the F-22, but Congress didn't agree to that," Yoshioka said. "We realized that it was important for us to develop our domestic capabilities."
Russia's new fighter, the Sukhoi T-50, took to the air last year. It is being jointly developed with India's air force. The T-50 is seen not only as a boost to Russian air power - which is of concern to Japan because of a lingering dispute over islands both claim in the north Pacific - but also as a strong indication it wants to sell more top-of-the-line fighters abroad.
Japan's air force is aging.
Tokyo wants to replace its old F-4EJ and F-15 fighters with more current aircraft, most likely the US-built F-35 Joint Strike Aircraft or F/A-18, or the Eurofighter "Typhoon."
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