Japan Mulls F-35 Purchase As Next Main Fighter Jet

[RPK]

Japan mulls F-35 purchase as next main fighter jet

Tokyo: Japan is considering buying 40 F-35 fifth generation combat jets from US to be its future mainstay frontline fighter.


Japan picked up the F-35 fighter jointly developed by US, UK, Australia and others over Boeings F/A-18 and F-15 FX and Euro- fighter to contend with China developing next generation J-17 fighters.

According to Kyodo news agency, the Japanese Defence Ministry is seeking fiscal allocation in the 2011 budget to purchase these advanced stealth fighter jets.

The F-35 fighters with covered armament pods are estimated to cost USD 101 million each, Kyodo said.

The agency said that Japan's first choice was to acquire Lockheed-Martins F-22 Raptor fighters to replace its ageing F-4EJ fighters, but the US has refused to sell these fighters built to evade radars at supersonic speeds.

The US has also announced plans to halt production of the Raptors, billed to be world's costliest fighter. Washington has not sold even a single F-22 to any other country.

 

[enlightened1]

Japan Mulls F-35 Purchase As Next Main Fighter Jet: Report​

Japan is considering buying about 40 F-35 fighter jets as the future mainstay of the nation's air force, it was reported Monday.

Japan has officially been pacifist since World War II but has been gradually expanding the role of its military, in part because of concern over nuclear-armed North Korea and China's continued military growth.

The defense ministry will likely seek funds in the fiscal 2011 budget for the fighters, Kyodo said, citing unnamed sources.

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), being developed by the United States, Britain, Australia and other countries, is estimated to cost about 9 billion yen ($101 million) each, Kyodo said.

Japan initially aimed to acquire the F-22 Raptor, which is built to evade radar detection at supersonic speeds, to replace its aging F-4EJ fighter fleet, but the United States has announced a plan to halt production of the jet.

Japan has been looking at six models of aircraft, including the Raptor, the F-35 and the Eurofighter - designed by a European consortium.

 

[Energon]

So Japan wants to buy F35s to counter China's "next generation JF-17"? Really?

Who writes this nonsense?

 

[tarunraju]

Now whoever thinks Japan doesn't need the US anymore, can jump off a 20 storey building and land anus first. It takes a ton of engagement to make sure you're able to buy a JSF.

 

[StealthSniper]

Now whoever thinks Japan doesn't need the US anymore, can jump off a 20 storey building and land anus first. It takes a ton of engagement to make sure you're able to buy a JSF.

Well first off why do you think Japan needs the US for it's military needs?

 

[LETHALFORCE]

A lot of this has to do with the financing for the JSF, Japan will always be held on a leash by USA many terms were laid out after their ww2 defeat,whether they need it or not to counter j-17 is irrelevant to USA.

 

[enlightened1]

@Energon
So they won't induct better fighters in the future & if they do only then Japan will seek JSFs & in the meantime China will have the upper hand right? You really think that's what Japs want?
They're just seeking replacements for their old fighters which are at the twilight of their service life...& just like India, they want the best of the aircrafts offered to them.

Japan has been looking at six models of aircraft, including the Raptor, the F-35 and the Eurofighter

 

[tarunraju]

Well first off why do you think Japan needs the US for it's military needs?

Because Chengdu or Shenyang is not going to give it a 5th gen fighter

 

[StealthSniper]

Because Chengdu or Shenyang is not going to give it a 5th gen fighter

Japan is only doing what the US wants because like Lethal said it's on a leash. If any country has the technology and the expertise to make something like the JSF it's Japan and America and every country knows this. If Japan could do what it wants I guarantee that in a decade or even less it could make a 5th generation fighter of their own that won't have degraded performance or bugs in it.


Japan, Germany, Russia and America are known as Inventor countries and they Engineer and invent products while India and China build and copy products. (India and China are now slowly becoming Inventor countries also).

 

[Zebra]

F-35 Wins Japan Fighter Competition

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Published: 20 Dec 2011 00:00

TOKYO - Japan on Dec. 20 chose the U.S.-built F-35 Joint Strike Fighter stealth jet for its next-generation mainstay fighter, as North Korea provided a timely reminder of the region's potential for instability.

U.S. Air Force F-35A Joint Strike Fighters are shown in the skies over Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., in July. Japan announced Dec. 20 that it would buy the F-35A variant to replace its F-4 fleet. (Staff Sgt. Joely Santiago / U.S. Air Force) In a deal estimated to be worth more than $4 billion, Japan went for the trouble-plagued jet to replace its aging fleet of F-4 fighters.

"The government shall acquire 42 units of F-35A after fiscal 2012 in order to replenish and to modernize the current fleet of fighters held by the Air Self-Defense Force," the cabinet said in a statement.

Lockheed Martin's F-35 beat off competition from two other jets: the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet and the Eurofighter Typhoon.

The government said Japanese companies would take part in building the new fighters.

The formal decision, which had long been expected, came the day after news of the death of Kim Jong Il sent jitters through the region amid fears a power transition could destabilize North Korea's hard=line regime.

Tokyo was originally expected to announce its pick last week. The selection comes as China's massive military machine continues to grow and Beijing becomes increasingly assertive.

The F-35 is the most expensive weapons program in Pentagon history and has been plagued by cost overruns and technical delays.

Co-developed with British defense giant BAE Systems, the F-35 was the costliest of the three models under consideration, with a price tag estimated at $113 million per aircraft.

Japan initially aimed to acquire the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter to renew its fleet, but U.S. law prohibits exports of the jet and the United States has halted production of the model.

Japan, which places its security alliance with the United States at the cornerstone of its foreign policy, has long depended on U.S. manufacturers for its military hardware.

F-35 Wins Japan Fighter Competition - Defense News

 

[asianobserve]

A lot of this has to do with the financing for the JSF, Japan will always be held on a leash by USA many terms were laid out after their ww2 defeat,whether they need it or not to counter j-17 is irrelevant to USA.

As if Japan really care about being "leashed." Who stood by Japan immediately after the war when it was vulnerable from vengeance from its bitterest enemies (who became victors)? Who provided the industrial assistance and demand immediately after the war to jump start Japanese economy? Who guaranteed Japanese security all these time so that it could focus on its economy? Who is the first country to extend assistance to it whenever it is faced with challenging situations (like the latest quake)? The Japanese know who ultimately matters to them. The rise of a belligerent China only serves to deepen the mutual relations between these 2 allies.

 

[Zebra]

Japan F-X Competition Win Key Victory for JSF Program - Defense News

few points .....

* The cost of each jet is 8.9 billion yen, or $114 million, according to a Japanese Ministry of Defense official.

* According to Lockheed Martin, the first four aircraft will be delivered in 2016.

* There are about 700 F-35s on order from the program's eight overseas partner nations.

* Lockheed is offering a production line-final assembly and checkout facility in Japan (FACO), as well as component and subcomponent assembly work. Japan is not a member of the F-35 partner program, so the procurement of F-35s by Japan will be through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) process .

* Japan's Ministry of Defense said that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., IHI Corp. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. will work on the plane.


* Okumura cautioned however that the selection of the F-35 does not mean that the fighter is an automatic choice for the F-XX program, a 100-plus fighter replacement for Japan's aging fleet of F-15s, that will form Japan's next big-ticket purchase .

* "The Air Self-Defense Forces have in the past preferred to have a number of different fighters for different roles. And remember, the more F-35s that are produced locally, the more the cost will increase," he said.

 

[Tshering22]

the more F-35s that are produced locally, the more the cost will increase," he said.

Japanese cost of labor is too expensive. Look at the F-2 production they initiated. 1 F-2 is worth 3 F-16Cs!! Japanese weapons are crazy expensive. I don't know the economics of it but this has something to do with Yen and stuff as well.

Japanese are better off either considering militarization like USA to drastically cut unit costs (which right now they cannot afford) or consider USA making them at home and exporting it to Japan.

 

[Tshering22]

Japan is only doing what the US wants because like Lethal said it's on a leash. If any country has the technology and the expertise to make something like the JSF it's Japan and America and every country knows this.If Japan could do what it wants I guarantee that in a decade or even less it could make a 5th generation fighter of their own that won't have degraded performance or bugs in it.

Can't. Apparently, the US signed something like, "you will remain our happy puppy for the rest of eternity. If you don't we will nuke you again". Can't believe Japanese actually are buying that sort of trash talk even today. USA will never drop a nuke again especially with so many nuke wielders. Wonder why don't they start militarizing.

Japan, Germany, Russia and America are known as Inventor countries and they Engineer and invent products while India and China build and copy products. (India and China are now slowly becoming Inventor countries also).

USA and Russia COPIED as well. The only true inventor countries were Germany and Japan. Only after WW2 did US make a 3 generation leap in everything they made. If they had not come across those successful-yet-to-induct researches from Nazi and Imperial Japanese regime, they'd still be flying propeller aircraft guzzling more gas.

The difference between India and China/USA/Russia is that they chose to rapidly evolve whether by force or by passion to become No.1... whereas in our country, innovation and invention is severely discouraged.

 

[asianobserve]

USA and Russia COPIED as well. The only true inventor countries were Germany and Japan. Only after WW2 did US make a 3 generation leap in everything they made. If they had not come across those successful-yet-to-induct researches from Nazi and Imperial Japanese regime, they'd still be flying propeller aircraft guzzling more gas.

The Japanese might be extremely efficient but they are not really inventors/innovators, they are best at improving what already exist. Most of their military hardware since they started industrialisation were copied from various models.

 

[Zebra]

Analysis: Japan's F-35 choice a case of capability over industry

By Reuben F Johnson , 1/13/2012

Japan's decision to select the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) for its F-X fighter replacement requirement was based on different considerations to those currently in play in other major fighter competitions.

The two largest still in play – Brazil's F-X2 and India's Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) – have been running for years with the main criteria being the level of technology transfer, industrial participation for local firms and commercial offsets.

Brazil's emphasis on the transfer of technology goes further than most other competitions with the requirement that "benefits from the programme have an impact across the entire economy, not just in the defence sphere," according to a Brazilian diplomat familiar with the tender.

By contrast, Japan's decision-making process was more about actual combat performance and interoperability with the US and other neighbouring allied states than about industrial benefits. Cost – both flyaway and life-cycle – was also less of a factor for Tokyo.

Operationally Japan's long-term considerations were that the US, South Korea, Singapore and Australia would all be flying F-35s in the future and the Japan Air Self-Defence Force wants to be fully interoperable with such nations.

Analysis: Japan's F-35 choice a case of capability over industry

 

[Tshering22]

The Japanese might be extremely efficient but they are not really inventors/innovators, they are best at improving what already exist. Most of their military hardware since they started industrialisation were copied from various models.

No country that is being given such a short end of the stick would be able to innovate if they are not given room for expansion. Please remember that in WW2, Mitsubishi Zero was one deadly innovation the Japanese did. The problem is, Japanese never got the time or the space to expand till date in areas of innovation.

Give them the room and see how they come up with fine weapons. But for that, they will have to revoke the US-Japan Treaty and start militarizing en masse.

 

[Ray]

Japan is a country that can raise itself like a phoenix.

They have the requisite brainpower to surprise the world.

They have to shed their peace mentality and return to the Shinto mentality.

But then, that might be dangerous!

 

[Tshering22]

Japan is a country that can raise itself like a phoenix.

They have the requisite brainpower to surprise the world.

Well they are not doing it one bit considering that they have given in too much to the US demands.

They have to shed their peace mentality and return to the Shinto mentality.

But then, that might be dangerous!

Shinto is not a mentality. It is their ancient philosophy like how we have Dharmic paths. "Never say die" is the mentality.

Honestly I'd prefer an aggressive Japan against China especially since our fellow Indians are too brainwashed to get a right government to counter our border threats.

 

[noob101]

Japan is a country that can raise itself like a phoenix.

They have the requisite brainpower to surprise the world.

They have to shed their peace mentality and return to the Shinto mentality.

But then, that might be dangerous!

Why should they... Japan is the the biggest recipient of US military aid in the world, not in the actual form of currency let me explain after WW II they decided to outsource their whole military needs to the US, until the Korean war the Japanese government spent almost nothing on defense and since then for many years they spent considerably less than 1% of the GDP on defense until recently they haven't reached the 1%. America maintains airbases, army and marines, a whole navy taskforce with a dedicated carrier battle group. They get all of this for free!

Plus any American military hardware is sold to Japan on the cheap with the option of having it manufactured there conserving Japanese jobs and not having to pay much in terms of R&D costs. most people cry about how much the Pakis or Isreal receives form the US one should really look at how much America spends on Japan!