Alan Wilson
By Boyko Nikolov
On Feb 17, 2021
TOKYO, (BM) – Approximately $ 150 million will invest the Land of the Rising Sun in developing a new aircraft for conducting electronic warfare, BulgarianMilitary.com has learned, citing Naked Science. The project was assigned to the Japanese corporation Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
According to sources, the entire program to develop, build and test the new Japanese aircraft will cost approximately $ 440 million. Japan is currently using the Kawasaki-C2 aircraft for this purpose. According to military experts, the Japanese designers will use Kawasaki-C2 as a basis for the development and construction of the new EW aircraft.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense expects that in the middle of 2026, the country will have two prototypes to start doing flight tests and the electronic warfare system. If the tests are successful, Japan is ready to build “several” such machines, but for now, it is not known precisely how many.
We remind you that Tokyo is in the process of modernizing its air force. In addition to the expected new acquisition in the middle of this decade, Japan already has a severe air fleet of American F-35 stealth fighters. Japan is currently developing its next-generation fighters.
Next-gen Japanese fighter jet in 2035
According to Junnosuke Kobara, author of the Japanese online publication Nikkei Asia, the next-gen Japanese fighter should be ready by the end of the current decade. According to him, the Japanese Air Force will use this fighter jet in 2035.
Junnosuke Kobara says Japan decided on a changing methodology for waging war, integrating new technologies into weapons and China’s “big” neighbor. According to the author, Tokyo must have an alternative to Beijing’s air response, as the Chinese People’s Liberation Army has at least 1,000 fourth-generation fighters.
They are all capable of reaching supersonic speeds. Kobara recalls that Japan currently has three times fewer fighters than China. BulgarianMilitary.com reminds you that China is presently rapidly developing fifth-generation fighter jets as well.
The new EW Japanese aircraft may receive foreign support
So far, there is no information about a company outside Japan that will participate in the Japanese Ministry of Defense project for the new aircraft for conducting electronic warfare.
But the Japanese realized that Lockheed Martin’s experience in building fighters would help the Japanese project. Eventually, the Japanese government decided to commission Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Lockheed Martin to partner on the program.
There is a real possibility that this scenario happens again. Japan is modernizing its air force, and the United States has been a Japanese partner for many years. Lockheed Martin, Boeing, BAE Systems have experience in building electronic warfare systems. In the future, the Japanese could consider that their participation would only benefit them.
***
Kevin Martin
No comments:
Post a Comment