News Story: Japan Wants Its Own Early-Warning Planes

E-2C Hawkeye (Wiki Info - Image: Wiki Commons)

TOKYO — Japan’s Defence Ministry wants to develop its own early-warning aircraft, replacing US-made planes as the Chinese and Russian air forces grow more assertive, a report said Sunday.

The ministry has asked for an initial ¥80 million ($642,000) from the finance ministry for the next fiscal year starting April to produce a mock aircraft, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported.

It said that military planners want to complete the development program for planes featuring advanced surveillance radar by the mid-2020s, to replace Japan’s US-made E-2C Hawkeye planes, which are based on a 1960s design.

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