We’ve Spotted Japan’s New Stealth Fighter -- Thomas Newdick, War Is Boring
ATD-X makes its first appearance as Tokyo’s warplane plans advance
Japan is working on a homegrown stealth fighter. It’s called the ATD-X. And we apparently just got our first glimpse of the prototype.
In mid-June, a blurry photo appeared on a Chinese Internet forum, purporting to depict the first ATD-X demonstrator aircraft outside a hangar in Tokyo.
The Japanese government hopes to develop the ATD-X into the frontline F-3 fighter to replace its Boeing F-15Js. Tokyo is also procuring the American-made F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter as a replacement for older F-4EJ Phantom IIs.
Tokyo plans to build 38 of the 42 Lockheed Martin F-35s itself and acquire the other four from the American factory. The total cost to Japan is $8 billion. Manufacturing the jets on the home islands should help sustain the domestic aerospace industry—specifically, fighter-maker Mitsubishi.
The ATD-X offers similar industrial benefits. But there’s a clear military rationale, as well.
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My Comment: Unlike the U.S. .... it appears that the Japanese do not want all of their eggs in one basket (i.e. the F-35 fighter).
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