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TOKYO, Dec. 9 (AP) Japan announced Friday that it will jointly develop its next-generation fighter jet with Britain and Italy, as Tokyo looks to expand defense cooperation beyond its traditional ally, the United States.
The Mitsubishi FX fighter will replace Japan’s aging F-2 fleet, which was previously jointly developed with the United States.
Japan’s FX and Britain’s Tempest, successors to the Eurofighter Typhoon, will combine to form the next generation of fighter jets, due to be fielded by 2035.
The deal would give Japan greater support to counter China’s increasingly assertive attitude and allow Britain to play a bigger role in the Indo-Pacific region.
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Friday’s fighter jet announcement came four days after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced spending targets aimed at boosting Japan’s military capabilities, including a sharp increase in defense spending over the next five years.
To meet a five-year total of 43 trillion yen ($316 billion), the government needs an additional 4 trillion yen ($30 billion) in defense spending each year. Of these, a quarter will be funded through tax increases.
A revised national security strategy, expected to be released later this month, is expected to give the country a pre-emptive strike capability and deploy long-range missiles.
It was a significant and controversial shift from Japan’s self-defense-only defense policy following its defeat in World War II in 1945.
In response to growing threats from China and North Korea, Japan has been expanding defense partnerships with countries in the Indo-Pacific region including Australia, Southeast Asian countries and Europe.
Later on Friday, Japan and Australia will hold “2+2” security talks between their foreign and defense ministers in Tokyo to discuss further deepening military ties after Kishida and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Abbott signed a new bilateral security agreement in October.
It covers military, intelligence and cybersecurity cooperation amid China’s growing assertiveness.
Japan’s defense ministry official said Japan’s new security strategy gives it a stronger strike capability and wants to expand joint exercises in Australia, including shooting exercises that are difficult to conduct at home.
The Defense Department says the new aircraft will be a multirole stealth fighter superior to the F-35 and Eurofighter, with advanced checkers and networking.
The new jet is expected to replace Japan’s 94 F-2s, Britain’s 144 Eurofighters and Italy’s 94 Eurofighters, Japanese officials said.
More details, including production targets, development costs and aircraft design, are still being discussed, officials said.
Kishida’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party wants to further ease restrictions on Japan’s arms exports and technology transfers to allow for the export of jointly developed new fighter jets.
Japan eased a ban on arms exports in 2014 and established its own procurement, technology and logistics agency a year later, seeking to bolster its flagging domestic defense industry and boost joint technology development and sales with friendly nations.
The strategy has seen little progress since the government, instead of boosting sales, has increased commodity purchases from the US.
Japan initially considered Lockheed Martin as its partner in developing the next-generation fighter. But it dropped the plan, reportedly due to the U.S. company’s reluctance to share key expertise in stealth technology.
The Japanese and U.S. governments announced on Friday that Japan and the United States will cooperate on “autonomous system capabilities, which can complement Japan’s next fighter jet program.”
Britain and Italy were chosen as partners after Japan ensured they would share key information, allowing each country to make its own repair decisions, officials said.
Under the fighter agreement, Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will partner with British defense contractor BAE Systems PLC. Italy’s Leonardo SpA will be a key player in the project.
Japan’s IHI, Britain’s Rolls-Royce and Italy’s Avio Aero will be responsible for its engines, while Mitsubishi Electric, Leonardo UK and Leonardo SpA will be responsible for the avionics.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement that the development of the joint fighter reflected the need to stay at the forefront of defense technological advancement to outperform “those who seek to harm us”.
He said the security of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions were “indivisible”.
The ambition is to create a jet “enhanced by a functional network of drones, advanced sensors, cutting-edge weapons and innovative data systems,” his office said.
The leaders of the three countries said in a joint statement that the project, called the Global Air Combat Plan, will deepen defense ties, cooperate in science and technology, help integrate supply chains and further strengthen the defense industry. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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