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Japan eyes procuring F-35 fighters; gives up on more F-2 jets
The Defense Ministry has set its sights on procuring the F-35 fighter as Japans main next-generation fighter aircraft for the Air Self-Defense Force, giving up on an earlier plan to buy more F-2 fighters, ministry and Self-Defense Forces sources said Sunday.
The ministry plans to seek procurement costs for the F-35 in its budget request for fiscal 2012 and is slated to begin full-fledged arrangements for the procurement plan early next year through a selection committee to prepare for the budget request deadline next summer, the sources said.
The ministry was planning to retool its current main F-15 fighters and buy more F-2 jets as a stopgap measure, given the delay in the development of the fifth-generation F-35 stealth fighter capable of flying at supersonic speeds as well as its price increase.
But the ministry has determined that procuring the less functional F-2 aircraft additionally would not be expedient from the standpoint of deterrence and cost, the sources said.
Also considering that China has been mass-producing its own fighter planes that are comparable to the F-15 jets and is seeking to develop a next-generation aircraft, the ministry is eyeing the deployment of about 40 units of the F-35 or other fifth-generation fighters, they said.
Japans move would bring an end to domestic production of jet fighters for the first time since 1955 when Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. began licensed production of the F-86, as the company will have to terminate its production of the F-2 after delivering the aircraft for fiscal 2011 through March 2012.
The Japanese ministry has requested 680 million yen in the fiscal 2011 budget as expenses to obtain information on the capacity of the F-35, which is being jointly developed by nine countries including the United States, Britain and Italy.
But as priority will be placed on deploying the aircraft to countries that are developing them, it is unclear when Japan would be able to procure them. The price tag has also soared from the original quote of about $50 million per unit to $95 million.
Japan eyes procuring F-35 fighters; gives up on more F-2 jets Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion
The Defense Ministry has set its sights on procuring the F-35 fighter as Japans main next-generation fighter aircraft for the Air Self-Defense Force, giving up on an earlier plan to buy more F-2 fighters, ministry and Self-Defense Forces sources said Sunday.
The ministry plans to seek procurement costs for the F-35 in its budget request for fiscal 2012 and is slated to begin full-fledged arrangements for the procurement plan early next year through a selection committee to prepare for the budget request deadline next summer, the sources said.
The ministry was planning to retool its current main F-15 fighters and buy more F-2 jets as a stopgap measure, given the delay in the development of the fifth-generation F-35 stealth fighter capable of flying at supersonic speeds as well as its price increase.
But the ministry has determined that procuring the less functional F-2 aircraft additionally would not be expedient from the standpoint of deterrence and cost, the sources said.
Also considering that China has been mass-producing its own fighter planes that are comparable to the F-15 jets and is seeking to develop a next-generation aircraft, the ministry is eyeing the deployment of about 40 units of the F-35 or other fifth-generation fighters, they said.
Japans move would bring an end to domestic production of jet fighters for the first time since 1955 when Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. began licensed production of the F-86, as the company will have to terminate its production of the F-2 after delivering the aircraft for fiscal 2011 through March 2012.
The Japanese ministry has requested 680 million yen in the fiscal 2011 budget as expenses to obtain information on the capacity of the F-35, which is being jointly developed by nine countries including the United States, Britain and Italy.
But as priority will be placed on deploying the aircraft to countries that are developing them, it is unclear when Japan would be able to procure them. The price tag has also soared from the original quote of about $50 million per unit to $95 million.
Japan eyes procuring F-35 fighters; gives up on more F-2 jets Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion
