Japan Seeks Sixth Generation Fighter Jet to Dominate Beijing’s J-20
SputnikNews.com
24.03.2016
Tokyo began conversations with US defense contractors this week to lay the groundwork for the development of a sixth-generation F-3 fighter jet.
This week, Japan opened talks with US defense contractors Lockheed Martin and Boeing to discuss a sixth-generation fighter aircraft. The move comes as Tokyo seeks to repel the expansion of China’s influence as Beijing takes a more aggressive regional posture.
Defense analysts speculate that the new aircraft would be based, in part, on Mitsubishi’s X-2 ATD-X stealth fighter prototype. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force is set for the first flight of the X-2 prototype within days.
One defense contractor commented that Japan is only in the exploratory phase for its next-generation fighter jet. “There is no policy decision and no program of record for the next fighter, but there is some discussion that there will be a fighter at some point,” the source said.
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