Japan is studying whether to go it alone on building its next generation of fighter aircraft. Japan’s ministry of defense has been working on the Advanced Technology Demonstrator (ATD-X) for four years and it’s scheduled to fly in January. Nikkei Asian Review says the ministry is asking the government for $384 million to fund a test program designed to see if the ATD-X can form the basis for an indigenous fighter program. The Japanese Air Self-Defense Force now has the F-2, an F-16 derivative built jointly by Mitsubishi and Lockheed Martin, as its frontline fighter but production ended in 2011 and the type is expected to be retired in 15 years.
The ATD-X is designed to be a stealthy twin-engine fighter with a lightweight (likely composite) airframe and modern weapons and electronics. The major development effort will be a clean-sheet engine design that could start next year and take up to five years. The first aircraft will fly with off-the-shelf engines. The government says that even if it doesn’t go ahead with production of the result, the knowledge gained by the effort will help it become a player in arms development programs and help it negotiate future fighter deals with other countries.
