The Americans offered the Japanese together to create invisibility.
The Japanese concern Mitsubishi received an offer of comprehensive cooperation from its long-time partner - American Lockheed Martin. We are talking about the joint creation of the fifth-generation stealth fighter, which is planned to be supplied by the Air Force during 10 years. Japan may become the fourth country (after the United States, Russia and China), which began testing the fifth-generation fighter of its own.Concern Mitsubishi Heavy Industries received an offer from the American Lockheed Martin to jointly develop an invisible fighter. “We provided them with the necessary information (on the project) in accordance with the request made in August. The Japanese aerospace industry has great potential. We are ready for all-round cooperation, ”the head of the American company Marilyn Hewson“ Kommersant ”quotes.
These two concerns had once created the F-4 and F-2 fighters, which the Japanese Defense Ministry plans to replace as obsolete. Now in service with the Japanese self-defense forces is about 130 such machines. A fighter with the design name Advanced Technology Demonstrator X is considered as a replacement. The final design decision is expected no earlier than 2018 of the year, and commissioning in this case is expected no earlier than in 10 years.
Note that in April, Mitsubishi has already demonstrated its fifth-generation X-2 aircraft. Japan became the fourth country (after Russia, the United States and China), which began testing the fifth-generation fighter of its own.
On the X-2 prototype, it is planned to work out various technologies of the future aircraft: stealth technology, as well as the airframe and the engine, which should provide extremely high maneuverability, other systems.
Plays T-50 in all respects.
The exact characteristics of the prototype fifth-generation Japanese fighter ATD-X Shinshin, demonstrated by Japan, are not yet known. However, based on the resources available to the Japanese, opinions were expressed that the new Japanese fighter would be inferior to the Russian counterpart, the T-50 (PAK FA), in parameters such as stealth, cruising supersonic flight speed, modern radio-electronic equipment, including radar AFAR, all-angle shelling of targets and super-maneuverability. In addition, if Russia plans to put the T-50 into service next year, then the Japanese fighter will turn from a prototype into a real combat vehicle much later.
Recall, October 14 Commander-in-Chief of the Air and Space Forces, Colonel-General Viktor Bondarev said that next year the first five T-50s are waiting for VKS. “Next year we will complete its tests,” Interfax quoted Bondarev.
As is known, the first test flight of the PAK FA took place on January 29 2010, in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. The PAK FA is a single-strike aircraft, in whose design composite materials are widely used. According to open data, it will meet the following requirements for VKS for 5 generation fighters: supersonic flight without afterburner, low visibility for radar, optical, acoustic and other detection systems, super-maneuverability and the ability to perform relatively short takeoff and landing. Flight performance of the aircraft is not officially disclosed.
At the moment, the only fifth-generation fighter aircraft in service are the American F-22 Raptor and F-35 aircraft.
Japanese are able to create a similar aircraft
Dmitry Drozdenko, deputy editor-in-chief of the Arsenal of Fatherland magazine, recalls that the prototype provided by the Japanese in April was fairly general, it is still too early to judge the characteristics of the future fifth-generation fighter of Japan’s self-defense forces. You can only talk about the financial and technological capabilities of Japanese aircraft manufacturers.
“To begin with, the fifth generation Air Force fighter must have a number of certain tactical and technical characteristics: the engine of this aircraft must have the ability to maintain cruising sound speed without using afterburners, the device itself must use stealth technology, that is, partial stealth technology for a certain radar and, finally, to possess a complex of modern weapons. All other characteristics are made by different manufacturers at the discretion. So, Russia adds “super-maneuverability” to the characteristics of its own fighter, ”Drozdenko told the LOOK newspaper.
As for the Japanese, according to the expert, they have access to modern technology, and aviation Japan’s industry since the Second World War has enormous potential, in addition, they have enough financial resources. “Given that the American company Lockheed Martin possesses fifth-generation technology, it is possible to create such a fighter in Japan. The combination of Mitsubishi’s resources, American technology and Japanese tenacity will help create a fifth-generation fighter, ”he said.
Visible American "invisible"
Drozdenko also notes that it is difficult to compare the future miracle of the Japanese aviation industry with Russian and American counterparts, especially since only American aircraft are in operation. “The next one is a Chinese fighter, but for the time being I would also call it just a flying declaration. Besides, do not forget the numerous stories with F-22 and F-35 breakdowns, when restrictions on radius of use were imposed on the operation of aircraft, ”the expert noted.
The expert recalled that although F-22 seemed to take part in US operations in Iraq and Syria, but considering how carefully Americans treat their latest technology, it is difficult to judge the real experience of their combat use. “It is not by chance that our commander of the VKS in Syria spoke about the“ Western dreamers ”in connection with the invisible aircraft. American fighters are rather psychological than combat. weapons"He said.
Drozdenko said that stealth technology was created by Americans based on Soviet research and allows the aircraft to remain invisible to the radars of a particular system. “When it turned out that the use of different wavelengths and passive radar technology makes the“ invisible ”visible, the USA removed their first invisible fighters from service,” the expert recalled.
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