In terms of military equipment development, Japan has always been restricted by the United States, and now this situation is being broken through step by step. Japan's long-planned stealth fighter F-3 project has entered a critical implementation stage. It plans to achieve mass production of domestic F-3s by 2030 and replace existing old models.
F-2
F-2
active F-2 is far behind J-10, J-11
A few days ago Boeing , Lockheed -Martin both said that they intend to provide fighter jets for the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force to meet its requirements for replacing Mitsubishi F-2 multi-purpose fighter jets. The two American companies said they will make a big debut in the Japanese market to compete for the contract worth about $20 billion in Japan's fighter.
Mitsubishi F-2 fighter jet is the product of a cooperation project between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Lockheed Martin in the first decade of this century and is expected to be retired in 2027.
Mitsubishi F-2 is the world's first aircraft to put on airborne active phased array (active electronic scanning array) radar into service. F-2 fighter is made in imitation of American fighter jets. The F-2 focuses on sea combat, but its air combat capabilities are not weak. It is also equipped with advanced air-to-air missiles, with good close combat performance and over-visual combat capabilities. The F-2 fighter can receive air refueling during flight, with a combat radius of about 810 kilometers and a range of more than 4,000 kilometers.
Although the performance of F-2 seems to be good, it is still a "bonsai in a bottle". The reason for saying this is because when Japan first developed the F-2, the United States had requirements for the technical performance of Japan's independent fighter jets, and specifically proposed that the F-2 fighter jets should not technically surpass the US F-16C. This puts the F-2 in an embarrassing situation as soon as it was born. The Japanese Self-Defense Force still relies on the US-made F-15 as the main fighter jet. It is not equipped with many F-2s, and it is said that there are only about 60 aircraft, and there is no sales in the international market. The F-2's comprehensive performance is not as good as that of my country's main fighter jets such as the J-10 and J-11.
Japan has always wanted to take a path of independent research and development in the field of fighter jets, but due to its dependence on the United States in politics, economy, military and other aspects, it has been unable to succeed for a long time. What kind of fighter is
F-3?
At present, Japan's fighter inventory is beginning to age. The F-4EJ "Ghost" fighter jet will be retired and plans to be replaced by 42 F-35A joint strike fighters. The country's F-15J body has at least 30 years, and in some cases, close to 40 years. In order to deal with China, it is also the reason for purchasing new aircraft. The United States relaxed its ties for Japan, which is also one of the reasons why the project was promoted.
This time, Japan has to cooperate with American companies to replace the F-2. It is reported that 100 aircraft may be purchased. The project of the new fighter, called the F-3, will be a Japanese local design with considerable investment from foreign defense contractors. The prototype of the F-3 is scheduled to be first flight around 2025, achieve true mass production in 2027, and replace the current model F-2 by the mid-1930s.
Since World War II, Japan has not designed fighter jets from scratch, so it is particularly needed, especially in the fields of avionics , communications and system integration. These are the essential aspects of interoperability with the U.S. military, making U.S. contractors the most promising to win contracts.
F-3 was once called "advanced technology verification aircraft" by the Technical Research Headquarters of the Ministry of Defense of Japan, so it may be a quasi-fourth-generation fighter or even a fourth-generation fighter. It emphasizes stealth technology, computer-controlled engine injection angle and freely changing the fuselage orientation during direct flight, etc. The entire structure of the F-3 fighter engine is similar to the engine equipped by the F-22 Raptor fighter.
It can be seen that once Japan's plan is successfully advanced, its fighter hangar will not only contain advanced fighter jets provided by the United States, but also the ability to produce fighter jets itself will be released, which puts huge pressure on China. Of course, fortunately, there are more than ten years for China to deal with. At present, with the smooth advancement of the J-20, China is confident that it will steadily improve its military strength and match its status as a major power.
