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| The Mitsubishi ATD-X Shinshin prototype |
By: Mike Yeo
MELBOURNE, Australia — The need for new fighter aircraft in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to remain buoyant, with simmering tensions centered on territorial disputes for resource-rich islands in the South and East China Sea being most often cited as the main driver for increased regional defense spending.
At the same time, a number of regional air forces are also facing obsolescence issues with all or part of their fleets over the next decade, as the many Cold War-era aircraft still in use need to be replaced.
Still, economic uncertainties cloud an otherwise rosy outlook for the defense industry in the region, with shrinking defense budgets and competing priorities often conspiring to push big-ticket fighter purchases to the back burner. Here is a rundown of Asian countries with outstanding fighter requirements and the progress of the respective programs.
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