Japan is preparing to abandon the domestic development projects of a new advanced fighter plane to replace the costly F-2 fighter-bomber after the 2030. In recent years, the Japanese Ministry of Defense had identified three alternatives to replace the expensive aircraft derived from the F-16, and developed independently by Japan with the help of US jet engines. The ministry had considered the option of autonomously developing a new aircraft, based on Mitsubishi's X-2 Shinshin technology demonstrator (Atd-x); other options were the development of an aircraft in collaboration with allied countries, or the extension of the operational life of the F-2s. The latter option, however, was discarded in light of growing military activism and the rapid modernization of the armed forces by China and Russia. The domestic development of a fifth generation fighter aircraft had been identified by the government as "important for maintaining Japanese fighter aircraft technology", particularly advanced in particular as regards the development and use of composite materials. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was supposed to lead the development of the new fighter aircraft; the continuous delays and technical difficulties accumulated by the Japanese conglomerate in the development of the MRJ regional airliner, however, prompted Tokyo to rethink, and the Ministry of Finance urged a bath of realism, citing the enormous costs that would be connected to the autonomous development of such an advanced weapon system. Based on these developments and considerations, the Ministry of Defense has chosen not to request the allocation of funds for the development of the new fighter aircraft in the budget for the fiscal year 2019, according to government sources cited by the newspaper "Asahi". Japan could instead address to the US already this week the proposal for the joint development of a new fifth generation fighter aircraft. The archiving of the X-2 Shinshin project would also help explain the Japanese government's plans to purchase more new generation F-35 fighter-bombers. The Japanese government, however, is considering the purchase of at least 20 other fifth generation F-35 fighter-bombers over the next six years in addition to those already commissioned, and could make the purchase directly from the manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corp. instead of assembling them locally. This is what three anonymous sources cited by the US and Japanese press say. "Based on budget availability and the production schedule, a further acquisition of about 25 aircraft appears appropriate," said one of the sources close to the Japanese defense plans. According to the source, which asked not to be identified because it is not authorized to discuss the matter with the media, buying the aircraft directly from Lockheed, rather than assembling them locally, would allow Tokyo to save about 30 million dollars per single aircraft. The order would add to the original order, which provides for the delivery of 42 assembled aircraft at a Japanese plant of Mtsubishi Heavy Industries. The plant, together with one operated by Leonardo Spa in Italy, is the only one to carry out the assembly of the new aircraft outside the US. Last January, the Japanese self-defense forces lined their first F-35A stealth fighter at the Misawa Air Base in northern Aomori Prefecture. The aircraft and future units of the same model stationed in Misawa will be in charge of responding to any incursions of the national airspace and conducting surveillance activities of North Korea. The Japanese Defense intends to deploy another nine aircraft in Misawa by the end of the next fiscal year, which will start in April; the base will thus host the first operational squadron of new stealth aircraft in Japan. Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said today that the deployment of the new aircraft "is significant for Japanese security at a time of rapid construction of air warfare capabilities by neighboring countries". The F-35 deployed in Misawa was assembled at a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries plant in Aichi prefecture in central Japan. Japan intends to equip itself with 42 F-35 fighter bombers, which will officially assume the role of the old F-4 Phantom, still in service in three squadrons at the Hyakuri Air Base, in Ibaraki. For the next year, the government has allocated funds for the purchase of Jsm cruise missiles intended for use with the F-35s. The introduction of long-range offensive weapons has raised controversy in the country, which since the post-war period has self-imposed a ban on force projection systems based on its own pacifist Constitution. The new missiles, Onodera reiterated this morning, “are not intended to hit foreign military bases.
