Tokyo has reaffirmed its plan for a 2014 first flight of its experimental Mitsubishi ATD-X Shinshin stealth demonstrator, while it also considers three fighters for its F-X requirement.
" The first flight of the ATD-X is scheduled in Japan fiscal year 2014, " said Japan's defence ministry.
" The ATD-X is a trial product of a high-manoeuvrability stealth aircraft adopting various state-of-the-art technologies that may be applied to future fighters, and confirm and verify the practicality and operational effectiveness of systems under various flight conditions, " said the ministry. " It is also intended for the study of air defence against stealth fighters that might be deployed in the neighbouring region in the future."
Japan unveiled the first full-sized mock-up of the ATD-X at Japan Aerospace 2008. Many observers, noting the immense costs and risks in developing an indigenous fighter, have speculated that the project was a bargaining chip to help Tokyo gain access to the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, which Washington steadfastly refused to sell to its Pacific ally.
Meanwhile, the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Eurofighter Typhoon and Lockheed F-35A Lightning II are vying for the F-X requirement to replace Japan's McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms. Tokyo issued a long-awaited request for proposals for the deal in April.
According to Tokyo's mid-term defence programme for the years 2011-15, the Japan Air Self-Defence Force has initial plans to procure 12 aircraft, with the final number yet to be determined. At a media briefing at the Paris air show, however, Boeing said the F-X requirement is for 42 aircraft.
Boeing added that it elected to offer the Super Hornet as opposed to a variant of the F-15 because Japan seeks a diversity of fighter types. The country operates a large force of F-15Js, but was concerned about readiness in the event of a problem with a specific type of aircraft.
Under F-X, substantial parts of the aircraft selected will be produced in Japan. Both Boeing and Lockheed have a long history of industrial co-operation with Japan on fighter programmes, while Eurofighter is a newcomer. The strong diplomatic ties between the USA and Japan, and the possibility that they may one day face common threats in the form of North Korea or China, would appear to favour the US aircraft over their European rival.
Tokyo expects proposals to be submitted by the end of September. The defence ministry said it will request that funds for the F-X purchase be appropriated for FY2012, with the aim of inducting the aircraft in 2016.
- Teruzuki, DD-116.
- Launched at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Shipyard in Nagasaki.
- Second of five ships of the class to be built.
- To be commissioned in 2012, third and fourth ship in class to be commissioned in 2013.
- Displacement: 5,000 tons, fully loaded 6,800 tons.
- Maximum speed: 30 knots
- Electronics: OPS-20C search radar, OYQ-11 ACDS, FCS-3 AAW System, OQQ-22 ASW System, NOLQ-3D EW System
- Armament: 1 Mk. 45 5″ gun, 4 x 2 sets of Type 90 anti-ship missiles, 32 vertical launch silos for missiles (Enhanced Sea Sparrow, ASROC), 2 triple tube HOS-303 324mm torpedo mounts
- Aviation complement: 2 SH-60 helicopters
- Equipped with ATECS battle command system
JS Teruzuki was previously known during development as 20DD.
New JMSDF Destroyer Teruzuki Launched
The Maritime Self Defense Force’s latest destroyer, JS Teruzuki, was launched September 15th. Teruzuki was launched six months after the lead ship in her class, Akizuki.
Gov't begins discussions on easing self-imposed arms export ban
Politics Dec. 18, 2011 - 07:23AM JST
TOKYO — The Japanese government this week began a series of meetings aimed at easing its self-imposed ban on arms exports and related technologies to allow more joint development and production of weapons with other nations.
Senior vice ministers of the foreign and defense ministries met to discuss the policy.
The new measure would enable shipments to countries with which Japan co-develops arms and stimulate the domestic defense industry by promoting joint development and production of key arms, such as next-generation fighter jets, with the U.S. and Europe. It would also cut the nation’s defense budget
However, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told a news conference that Tokyo would continue to prohibit arms exports to nations that are state sponsors of terrorism, violate the human rights of their citizens or lack sufficient controls over arms sales.
Japan currently bans almost all weapons exports, except for special cases such as those relating to the joint development of a missile defense system with the United States.
Vaunted missile shield more for show than protection
¥1 trillion defense system incapable of shooting down so many pieces
By JUN HONGO
Staff writer
With Aegis destroyers and Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles deployed and standing by, Japan's military appears ready to shoot down any debris from North Korea's rocket — or even the rocket itself — should it threaten the country this week.
Let the show begin : A PAC-3 antimissile battery is deployed Thursday in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture. KYODO
But some experts say that the probability of rocket parts falling on Japanese territory is extremely low, and the chance of the missile batteries detecting and destroying them is even lower.
" The rocket's proposed trajectory does not pose any risk to Japan if all goes as planned, " and no interception will probably be necessary, Motoaki Kamiura, a military analyst and author of several books on the Self-Defense Forces, told The Japan Times in a recent interview.
" Even if something does go wrong and pieces of the rocket start plunging toward the country, we are talking about debris that will fall from the sky randomly," he said. " No country in the world has a defense system capable of intercepting such debris. "
Japan’s Fuji TV has aired footage of two Chinese navy frigates which were spotted 150 kilometers northwest of the Senkaku Islands. The ships are not attempting to enter the Japanese territorial waters around the islands, but their presence nearby is supposedly not an everyday event. Unlike the fishery patrol boats that China has been sending to the area, these are full fledged warships.
A Quick and Cheap Power Projection Alternative for Japan
by KYLE MIZOKAMI on Jan 26, 2012 • 4:53 pm
Helicopters and air-cushioned landing craft ferry troops and equipment ashore in a computer-generated conceptual image of an afloat forward staging base. The AFSB concept provides an afloat platform for in-theater military operations and enhances the U.S. military’s force projection capability.
Over at the USNI Blog, Galrahn posted a link to a marketing article by the shipping company Maersk Line. Galrahn calls it “ A Potential Plan B for Seabasing “. The article discusses converting Maersk commercial container ships into Afloat Forward Staging Bases, complete with everything from a 14 V-22 Osprey-capable flight deck to the ability to load LCACs at sea.
This may be a “ Plan B ” for the U.S. Navy, but it’s also a compelling “ Plan A ” for other countries, in this case the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Forces. A converted shipping vessel would plug a lot of holes in Japan’s limited power-projection capability. The ships would still have a fundamentally defensive function, and would accommodate the following roles :
• Support of amphibious operations. Japan has a need for dedicated amphibious ships, particularly in the Senkaku Islands. A ship like this could provide command and control and act as mother ship to a number of smaller ships, particularly Joint High Speed Vehicle-type ships. Another vessel would have to carry LCACs into theater, but that’s where the Osumi-class LSTs come in.
• Disaster relief. A 1,140 foot ship with a 140 foot beam could pack a lot of disaster relief supplies.
Build in extra water desalination, electricity generation, and an extensive medical suite on par with
the Wasp-class amphibious ships and you’d have a capable platform for responding to natural disasters of the 3/11 variety.
• Sea control. Due to their size, most of the islands in the Senkaku chain are incapable of basing warplanes, meaning that air power has to be projected from Okinawa and the mainland. This could be a compelling and affordable first step for Japan in the direction of fixed-wing naval aviation. Modifying the Hyuga-class helicopter destroyers for fixed-wing is not a good solution : American big-deck amphibious ships such as Wasp and Makin Island can only accommodate 13-15 F-35Bs in a sea control mission. Hyuga and her sister ship Ise are only half as large in displacement, with a flight deck 50 meters shorter than the Wasp-class, which doesn’t bode as well for F-35 accommodations. A float Forward Staging Base has lots of flight deck.
Such a ship would be very useful in defending Japan’s far-flung archipelago, carrying a small F-35 complement, ground troops, transport helicopters, medical services, command and control–the whole package, or some mix of it. Offload the helicopters to Hyuga to increase deck space for F-35s. Even better, have more than one AFSB.
There are downsides. Having the bridge 2/3 of the way down the flight deck is not ideal for aircraft, especially fixed-wing. A converted shipping vessel is not built to take damage the way purpose-built naval vessels are. The ship would need to be strongly defended. But you can’t have everything.
Can’t buy a big amphibious vessel outright ? The Diet can’t decide to fund a disaster relief ship ? Don’t have $8-13 billion dollars to fund a supercarrier ? AFSB can sort of do all of these things, for less money! It’s not a perfect solution to everything, but it’s a far more affordable one.
Sometime around 2030, if U.S. Air Force plans come to pass, a fighter that leaps ahead of Lockheed Martin F-22 and F-35 technology will enter U.S. service. At about the same time, if Japan's plans come to pass, a similarly advanced fighter will enter service on that side of the Pacific.
It might be the same fighter. Merging Japan's 2030s requirement into evolving U.S. plans for post-F-35 fighters seems to make great industrial sense. Japan plans to begin developing a homegrown fighter within five years, with the aim of beginning production under the designation F-3 around 2027. The defense ministry wants to lay the groundwork to go its own way by investing in stealth technology and building its own powerful fighter engine.
IHI Corp. is to develop a technology-demonstrator engine of 15 metric tons (33,000 lb.) thrust, according to an official document seen by Aviation Week.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is already building a small airframe technology demonstrator, the ATD-X Shinshin, which the ministry expects to test in the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2014. Mitsubishi Heavy is also very likely to build the F-3, which Japanese officials expect will carry a pilot.
Full-scale development would begin in 2016 or 2017 and the first prototype would fly in 2024-25, according to the ministry's plans. Series production is to begin in 2027 and the type would begin replacing Mitsubishi Heavy Industries F-2 strike fighters in the first half of the 2030s. In the second half of that decade it would begin replacing Boeing F-15Js. The F-15s are older but are likely to remain the mainstay of Japan's air-defense squadrons, with suitable upgrades (see following article).
The exact status of the ministry's plans is unclear, but they probably represent what it hopes to achieve, with some expectation of obtaining approval. It projects production of about 200 F-3s, which would follow the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning into Japanese service. Japan has decided to buy 42 F-35s and may build parts of them. The U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force tentatively plan to begin fielding new fighters in 2030-35, the former sometimes using the name F/A-XX and the latter referring to its proposed F-X.
Two years ago, the ministry disclosed a research effort for what it called the i3 Fighter, intended to assemble a suite of advanced technologies for a future combat aircraft—or, some suspect, to be offered to the U.S. as a Japanese contribution to the next U.S. fighter. The ministry's Technical and Research Development Institute is leading the i3 Fighter work.
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