After the design details of X-2 were known, USG bureaucrats could not muster a valid objection to the sale of F-35 to Japan.
I believe the F-35 sale to Japan was made before the X-2 was known
The F.35C is a case study on why adding wing area to an airframe is a terrible idea, The entire aircraft has to be designed with a specific.planform and area, The “C” suffers from massive wave drag hefting around those wings on a compact fuselage. It is not worth slightly improved sustained turn performance and stall speed for compromised performance in every other metric.
Poor US Navy. From the home of the great F-4 and F-14, they had to take the meh Super Hornet and 35C
This whole exercise is a save face for Japan to kill the X-2 project. L-M will offer what does not exist and in the end, Japan will deem any X-3 cost prohibitive and order more F-35. Sadly, based on the current situation those F-35 will cost considerably more just to save their national aerospace industry. They would be better served modifying the F-35 to Japan specific needs with input from Mitsubishi. If they are gong to pay millions more to make the aircraft in Japan, get something out of it.
Unfortunately, I think this is exactly what will happen. the F-2 was a modified F-16 and still cost a double whopper meal set. A clean sheet design will be cost prohibitive, and so will a derivative design. I guess an F-35 variant is their only solution.. unless they jump ship to whatever France/Germany, India, or Turkey produces..and I think its likely all 3 will be either vaporware or come in a timeline too far off.
Meh.. Japan should just bite the bullet and order up a F-15SE 2.0 version.
There is no need to suck their treasures dry with a new insanly costly fighter program.
of course you want Japan to go for an aircraft that can’t stand up to the Su-57 or the J-20, its immediate threats
apan had another look at the F-15 in the mid-1980s as a basis for FS-X but went with the F-16 purely on cost grounds.
They went with the F-16 because the US pressured them to, the original FS-X was an F-18 looking aircraft with canards
Most of the items that held the F-22 back were avionics in nature. If you threw all the F-35 avionics at the new plane then this would not be an issue.
how likely can Japan get the blueprints to license produce an older or failed design. like the F-22, YF-23 or X-32? I think the Spanish were able to do it with a US navy ship that lost a contract.
Interesting, I didn’t know the Tornado was even offered to Japan. The IDS and ADV combo would have been great for Japan since their Air Force is more or less doing just two things.. interception and maritime strike.. exactly what the Tornado twins excelled at.
the ADV would have looked great in Japanese colors (couldn’t find any what pics for that one)
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