Info: Japan's future fighter slowly shaping up

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For the past two days, Japan’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency(ATLA) held annual military technology symposium and revealed the very recent state of their future fighter program. The ATLA claims that most of the key elements in the research are now getting into ‘building a full-scale prototype’ stage and ready for the test in the real environment from next year.

Engine
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The prototype engine for the Japanese next-gen fighter called XF9-1. Its size is similar to GE-F110-132(Diameter 1m, Length 4.8m), but the target performance can comparable to GE-F119(wet thrust: more than 15 tonnes(35,000 lbs), dry thrust: more than 11 tonnes(26,000 lbs)). Some of the engine parts made out of CMC(Carbon Matrix Composite) that recently attracted attention in the field of aircraft engines.

The ATLA said every part of the XF9-1 engine is separately tested and satisfied requirements. It will be a whole by June 2018.

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One thing interesting is that the XF9-1’s nozzle system looks very similar to early TVC design for EJ200 engine but much simple.(http://i.imgur.com/2JuTufL.gif)

Fuselage Structure
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The ATLA will use a new constructing method calls ‘integral adhesive molding of composite material’ which has remarkably advanced in recent years to build fuselage of the newest aircraft. This construction technique eliminates the need for rivets so it helps reduce weight and cost significantly. The ATLA said they already conducted heat resistance and durability test on the sample and confirmed the technical suitability.

Radar
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This prototype radar consists of numerous tile typed GaN T/R modules and according to the poster, it has x1.5 longer detection range than the foreign 5th gen fighter’s radar(F-35’s maybe?). It also has ECM, ESM capability.
The evaluation process of this radar on the ground facility is almost completed and from the next year, it will be mounted on an F-2 fighter and tested in the sky.

Internal Weapon Launcher
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The full-scale prototype already has been built and will be tested on the ground throughout 2018.

Software and simulator
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The development of the fire control software and evaluation by actual fighter pilot are conducted in the combat capability evaluation & simulation center.

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Official source: http://www.mod.go.jp/atla/research/ats2017/img/ats2017_summary.pdf