Japan succeeds in test flight of first stealth fighter jet

===================

Tokyo (AFP) - Japan's first stealth fighter jet successfully took to the skies on Friday as the country joins a select group of world military powers wielding the radar-dodging technology.

Technological super power Japan, despite strict constitutional constraints on the use of military force imposed after World War II, has one of the world's most advanced defence forces and the development of the stealth fighter comes as it faces new security challenges in the form of China's expanding force posture.

The domestically developed X-2 jet took off from Nagoya airport in central Japan on its maiden test flight as dozens of aviation enthusiasts watching the event erupted in applause as it lifted off into the clear morning sky.

Television footage showed the red-and-white aircraft roaring into the air, escorted by two Japanese military fighters that were collecting flight data.

The single-pilot prototype safely landed at Gifu air base, north of Nagoya airport, after a 25-minute flight with "no particular problems," said an official at the defence ministry's acquisition agency.

It was an "extremely stable" flight, the pilot was quoted as saying by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the main contractor.

"The control of the aircraft went exactly as in our simulated training sessions," the pilot added.

The inaugural flight, which followed extensive ground tests, had been postponed due to bad weather and malfunctions of parts used in its escape system.

"The first flight has a very significant meaning that can secure technologies needed for future fighter development," Defence Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters.

"We also expect it can be applied to other fields and technological innovation in the entire aviation industry," Nakatani added.

The X-2, developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and 200 other firms, measures 14.2 metres (47 feet) long and 9.1 metres wide and was built as a successor to F-2 fighter jets developed jointly with the United States.

Its delivery to the defence ministry is expected as early as next month and the acquisition agency "will continue analysing data and check its stealth technology capability," the agency official told AFP.

Presently, only the United States, Russia and China have been internationally recognised as having successfully developed and flown manned stealth jets, the agency said.

Japan began the project in 2009 and has reportedly spent about 39.4 billion yen ($332 million) to develop the aircraft.

The country was barred from developing aircraft for a number of years after its defeat in World War II but eventually produced the YS-11, a propeller passenger plane that began flying in the early 1960s.

In another aviation milestone in November last year, Japan's first domestically produced passenger jet, also developed by Mitsubishi Heavy, made its maiden test flight.

Japan plans to test fly home-made ATD-X stealth fighter  prototype in early 2016

Japan is closing in on becoming the fourth nation to test fly its own stealth jet, announced today the Japan Times. The aircraft is scheduled to make its maiden flight within the first three months of next year, Hirofumi Doi, a program manager at the Defense Ministry, said in an interview in Tokyo. The plane, called Advanced Technology Demonstrator X, will then be handed over to the Self-Defense Forces, which will start conducting its own tests, he said.

MHI's ATD-X prototype could fly for the first time during the first quarter of 2016

The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.-made plane builds on Abe’s military ambitions after he succeeded in pushing through U.S.-endorsed legislation to allow Japanese forces to fight in overseas conflicts, despite concerns voiced abroad and at home. Japanese militarism is a particularly sensitive topic for China and South Korea because of the aggression they endured before and during World War II. The 14-meter-long jet, equipped with engines from IHI Corp., will cost $325 million to develop, Doi said. The ATD-X could become the basis for a new fighter jet to replace the nation’s F-2, said Takahiro Yoshida, a director in the ministry. Should Japan decide to make a fighter jet version, its engines would be about three times the strength of the stealth jet’s, and the plane would have enough internal space for missiles, Doi said. It’s not certain that Japan will go ahead with the project. IHI is fully supporting flight tests of the latest jet, said Yuki Takahashi, a Tokyo-based spokeswoman. Hideo Ikuno, a spokesman for Mitsubishi Heavy in Tokyo, declined comment on the jet’s development. The U.S., Russia and China have all built and flown stealth planes, known as fifth-generation jets, which are harder to detect by radar. South Korea and Indonesia are also investing in the joint development of a next-generation fighter aircraft. Back in Japan, the government will make a decision on a replacement for its F-2 fighter jets by the end of March 2019, Doi said. “We’re building this in preparation for the development of a new fighter jet,” Doi said. “Neighboring countries are developing stealth jets and so this research is to allow us to understand what technology is needed for such a project.”