Japan looks to procuring F-35 fighters

10 Nov 2010

Source: Japan Today
The Japanes Defense Ministry has set its sights on procuring the F-35 fighter as Japan’s main next-generation fighter aircraft for the Air Self-Defense Force, giving up on an earlier plan to buy more F-2 fighters, ministry and Self-Defense Forces sources said Sunday.

The ministry plans to seek procurement costs for the F-35 in its budget request for fiscal 2012 and is slated to begin full-fledged arrangements for the procurement plan early next year through a selection committee to prepare for the budget request deadline next summer, the sources said.

Japan’s move would bring an end to domestic production of jet fighters for the first time since 1955 when Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. began licensed production of the F-86, as the company will have to terminate its production of the F-2 after delivering the aircraft for fiscal 2011 through March 2012.

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