Japanese Defense Ministry eyes domestic fighter jet

Published: Tue Jul 24th, 2007
Source: www.yomiuri.co.jp


The Defense Ministry will include in its fiscal 2008 budgetary request funds to develop a manned prototype fifth-generation fighter jet equipped with stealth capabilities and other advanced technologies, sources said Monday.

With the production of F-2 support fighters, jointly developed by Japan and the United States, scheduled to end in fiscal 2011, the ministry apparently plans to maintain the foundations for future technological development, the sources said.

The sources also said the ministry, by showing interest in developing jet fighters domestically, hopes to gain an edge in negotiations with the United States next summer when it selects Japan's next main fighter jets (F-X fighters).

According to ministry officials, the envisioned prototype would be equipped with stealth technology and other advanced electronics that would make the plane difficult to detect by radar. As the prototype would not be installed with radars and weaponry, it is expected to be smaller than real fighter jets, the officials said.

The prototype is likely to be developed over about a 10-year period, at an estimated cost of several tens of billions of yen, the officials said.
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