News Story: Asian Fighter Aircraft Market Looking Bullish

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. 

Read the full story at DefenseNews

Think Tank: Sea, air, land and space updates (11-Oct-2016)

Christopher Cowan, Thulasi Wigneswaran, Elisabeth Buchan and Alexander Vipond

Sea State

The UK announced last week that construction will soon begin on the first vessel of the Successor-class—the Royal Navy’s controversial new nuclear ballistic missile submarines. The Royal Navy awarded BAE Systems over £1.3 billion (AU$2.12 billion) to begin work on the vessel’s auxiliary machine space module, which houses electrical components for the ship’s nuclear reactor. The UK tabloid press is outraged that—sacré bleu!—the subs will be built using French steel.

That announcement comes on the heels of the US Navy awarding a US$101.3 million contract to General Dynamics Electric Boat for the first 22 missiles tubes of the US-UK Common Missile Compartment. The missile tubes will eventually be installed on both the Successor-class and the USN’s upcoming Columbia-class nuclear ballistic missile submarines.

In interesting news for Australia, the Italian Navy received its final anti-submarine warfare variant of the FREMM frigate last week. Fincantieri, the Italian manufacturer of the ships, has proposed an ‘Australianised’ variant for the Royal Australian Navy’s SEA 5000 program to replace its ANZAC frigates.

The USN’s recent changes to its 241-year-old rating system (mentioned last week) have received harsh criticism from affected Navy personnel. Navy commanders have tried to downplay the changes, with Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson calling on sailors to focus on plans to make more job fields and skills experience available.

News Story: Contractors Hope for Movement in Japanese Defense Market

ATD-X Shinshin Stealth Fighter, development Prototype for the F-3

By: Paul Kallender-Umezu

TOKYO — Several nascent procurement plans offer some hope of increased revenues for Japan’s top military contractors, but the overall picture could remain business as usual without either a radical increase in defense spending post-2018, when Japan will release its new Mid-Term Defense Program (MTDP), or a major breakthrough in overseas weapons sales.

Japan’s defense budget request, unveiled in late August, requests 5.17 trillion yen ($50.6 billion), an increase of 2.3 percent over the current amount, and will include 100 billion yen ($980 million) to upgrade PAC-3 missile batteries to PAC-3 MSE and account for rising F-35 costs, according to local media reports.

But a radical rise in the budget or overseas sales success looks unlikely unless the prospect of an actual armed conflict with China emerges, or Japanese contractors and the Japanese defense establishment works much harder to sell internationally, according to analysts.

Japan’s defense procurement is governed by MTDPs that decide exactly how many and what type of weapon systems and programs will be required over a five-year period. Equipment is then bought by the Self-Defense Forces in small, annual lots. While the self-contained system provides a stable annual income for five years, it leaves little room or incentive for major contractors such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), Mitsubishi Electric Corp., NEC Corp., Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI), IHI Ltd. or Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. to invest in major new weapon platforms, and it leaves them inexperienced in international contract bidding. 

A case in point is this year’s loss to French shipbuilder DCNS by an MHI and KHI-led consortium to convince the Royal Australian Navy to purchase 12 advanced Soryu-class submarines in a deal worth up to $40 billion, despite the vaunted stealth superiority of the Japanese submarines, and their advanced propulsion systems.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

Think Tank: SEA 1000 - no veto for Beijing on Australia’s defence policy

Malcolm Davis

With the outcome of the long-awaited SEA 1000 Competitive Evaluation Process seeing France’s DCNS announced as the international design partner for the future submarines, Australia must now manage the diplomatic fallout with the two failed bidders: Germany and, especially, Japan. As David Lang notes, ‘we should expect the CEP outcome to dampen the energy and enthusiasm that’s driven the bilateral relationship for much of the past two and a half years.’ There may also be disappointment in key defence circles within the US, given the very real strategic benefits that would’ve flowed to the Australia–Japan–US trilateral. But Japan’s lost bid isn’t simply a bilateral challenge for Australia–Japan defence and foreign relations. Australia has to manage China’s reaction.

The outcome is likely to have pleased Beijing, (and here) given that ‘Option J’ would have opened the doors to a greatly expanded strategic partnership between Tokyo and Canberra—both allied to the US. Paul Dibb summed up the situation:

‘Beijing must be rubbing its hands with glee that we are not buying submarines from its adversary, Japan…there is every possibility that the harsh authoritarian leadership under President Xi Jinping considers it has successfully bullied Australia to kowtow to its demands.’

It’s ironic that despite China’s probable happiness at Japan’s loss, Australia’s ability to operate alongside the US and Japan to counter Chinese naval forces will increase with this decision—albeit far too slowly in a rapidly changing security environment. 

Think Tank: Sea, air and land updates (3-May-2016)

F-22 Raptor's (Image: Wiki Commons)

Dione Hodgson, Ashleigh Sharp and Lachlan Wilson

Sea State

A US Navy flotilla was refused entry by the Chinese government to the port of Hong Kong last week. Pentagon spokesman, Commander Bill Urban, said the US Navy had asked the Chinese to let aircraft carrier John C. Stennis and several other vessels to visit the port this week but had been denied access. This wasn’t without precedent—the PRC similarly denied a US aircraft carrier entry to Hong Kong in August 2014. In response, Randy Forbes, chairman of the House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces subcommittee has suggested the US should allow its aircraft carriers to visit Taiwan.

As we’ve discussed in previous weeks, Chinese fishermen are becoming increasingly bold in their attempts to expand the country’s maritime presence in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. Their actions have come under increased scrutiny in the past few months, due to run-ins with maritime authorities in Malaysian, Vietnamese and Indonesian waters. Last week, Reuters took a look at the strategic implications of China’s ‘fishing militia’, and The Washington Post has an in-depth analysis at the role Chinese fishermen are playing on the frontline of the dispute.

Flashback: Former US Navy research vessel Melville, which appeared in the 1976 monster thriller King Kong, has been donated to the Philippine Navy. The 46-year-old ship was turned over last Wednesday during a christening and commissioning ceremony in San Diego, and will arrive in the Philippines in June, where it will be used for hydrographic surveys and marine scientific research.

News Story: Japan’s Own Fifth-Gen Fighter Makes First Flight

by Chris Pocock

Japan’s drive to produce its own fifth-generation fighter took a step forward on April 22, with the first flight of the Mitsubishi X-2. It took off from the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) aerospace facility at Komaki airport near Nagoya and performed basic maneuvers before landing 26 minutes later at nearby Gifu airbase. The MHI test pilot described the flight as “extrememly stable.”

Commenting on the first flight, Japanese defense minister Gen. Nakatani said the X-2 development had “a very high potential for technological innovation in the entire aircraft industry and for application to other fields.” The goals of the project included the development of skilled engineers and to “clearly demonstrate the level of Japan’s aviation technology to the outside world.” He suggested that forthcoming test flights would enable the government to decide whether to proceed further by Fiscal Year 2018.

Read the full story at AINonline

News Story: Prototype Japanese stealth fighter makes maiden flight

by Richard Tomkins

A stealth fighter by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries conducted its maiden flight Friday in Japan.

The X-2 prototype took off from Nagoya Airport and went through a series of trials to confirm basic maneuvers -- including climbing, descent and circling operations – before terminating the 23-minute flight at the Japan Air Self-Defense Force's Gifu Air Base, the company said.

"Control of the aircraft went exactly as in our simulated training sessions," said the unidentified pilot, "and after piloting the aircraft I'm 100 percent positive the X-2 is magnificent and will meet the Ministry of Defense's requirements."

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

Think Tank: After the F-35

Malcolm Davis

Despite continuing challenges with the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) development, the F-35 program forms the core of Australia’s future airpower. Australia remains committed to the JSF program, with the F-35A expected to reach initial operational capability sometime between financial year 2019–20 and 2022–23. The acquisition of the F-35A JSF, alongside the Super Hornets and the acquisition of 12 E/A-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft, form the shape of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)’s main ‘strike’ component of its future force structure through to the late 2040s or even early 2050s.

Yet 30 years is a long time in the development of modern airpower. The defence policy community should therefore be considering now how Australia can best sustain the military-technological advantage of planned future air combat capabilities, including the JSF, through their life of type. Advances in adversary C4ISR, air combat capabilities, and ground-based air defence technologies are certain to occur over the life time of those platforms in a manner that could erode their effectiveness, notably in anti-access area denial environments. Military technological advantage is always transitory and unless policy planning looks at capability development, the loss of that advantage will likely occur.

News Story: Asian Procurement Takes Cue From Chinese Modernization

F-35 Lightning Stealth Fighter

By Wendell Minnick

TAIWAN — China's military modernization effort continues to drive defense procurement in Asia as Beijing develops fifth-generation fighter aircraft, procures Russian Su-35 aircraft, builds aircraft carriers, extends the range and punch of its ballistic missile force, pushes to dominate the South China Sea, and threatens to invade Taiwan and occupy the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

“China’s increased militarization of the South China Sea, and its growing animosities with Japan, are driving many in the region to think about procuring additional firepower as a hedge against a more powerful and aggressive China,” said Richard Bitzinger, senior fellow and coordinator of the Military Transformations Program at Singapore’s Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

China’s traditional numerical superiority is increasingly complemented by at least near technical equivalence with its main regional rivals, said Douglas Barrie, senior fellow for military aerospace at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.

“The Chengdu J-10 and Shenyang J-11 and the Russian Su-35 will provide the basis of a capable fighter combat inventory in the 2020s,” he said. “Top tier air forces will face challenges and choices in balancing investing in platforms able to be operated in highly contested airspace or increasingly relying on standoff weapons and systems."

Regional responses to China’s bellicose behavior and North Korea’s erratic threats to develop missiles and nuclear weapons include midlife upgrades to F-16 fighter aircraft in South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, the development of new indigenous fighter aircraft, such as Korea’s KF-X program and Japan’s stealth X-2 Shinshin fighter, and upgrades of indigenous fighters, such as Taiwan’s Indigenous Defense Fighter.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

PacificSentinel Note: Unless things have changed in a major way since I last looked, Australia, Japan and South Korea were all buying the F-35A conventional take-off fighter, NOT the F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing version.

News Story: Japan Faces Challenging Choices for Cash-Strapped Air Force

Japanese F-15's (Image: Wiki Commons)

By Paul Kallender-Umezu

TOKYO — Critics have raised concerns that Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) could find itself with only a modest number of fifth-generation aircraft backed by obsolescing fourth-generation planes, based around the F-2 and F-15s, that lack interoperability.

For example, at present funding levels, the ASDF can only procure 42 F-35s at a rate of a handful a year, meanwhile diverting scarce resources to update its legacy fleet. This year, the ASDF can only afford to buy six F-35s while upgrading 11 F-2s with modern digital communications systems.

The recent ballyhooed unveiling of the putative fifth-generation X-2 Shinshin stealth fighter demonstrator and the future availability of the short takeoff/vertical landing F-35B on Japan’s carrier-convertible DDH Izumo-class helicopter carrier seem to offer the ASDF some pathways to building a more effective force. But do they?

Richard Aboulafia, vice president, analysis, at the Teal Group suggested that given budget constraints, costs and the dead-end nature of the costly F-2 program, ASDF’s most likely scenario will be some additional F-35s and more F-15 upgrades. Japan might even consider buying more up-to-date F-15s, but given the funding priority of the first 42 F-35s, cash for more F-15s is unlikely to be provided, he said.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

Think Tank: Sea, air and land updates (2-FEB-2016)

Mercedes Page and James Mugg

Sea State

The US Department of Defense has confirmed that the USS Curtis Wilbur conducted a freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea on 30 January, sailing within 12 nautical miles of Triton Island in the Paracels. According to the official statement from the US Navy, the operation was an exercise in innocent passage aimed at challenging the ‘excessive maritime claims of parties that claim the Paracel Islands’. You can read initial analysis of the latest US operation from Ankit Panda over at The Diplomat and Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. over at Breaking Defense.

The Russian Navy is planning to order six new Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines for its Pacific Fleet. The Kilo-class submarines are considered one of the quietest submarines in the world, and are sometimes called ‘black holes’ for their ability to seemingly disappear. Russia’s new Lada-class diesel-electric submarines are expected to be even stealthier, but extensive delays mean that the second and third Lada–class subs won’t be delivered until 2019.

We Are The Mighty have shared a list of the top five US battleships of all time. Included is the USS Missouri, which was the last US battleship to be decommissioned (in 1992). For the history buffs out there, it was also host to the Japanese surrender ceremony in 1945.

News Story: Japan Shifts Air Force Posture South, Unveils Stealth Demonstrator

ATD-X Shinshin

By Paul Kallender-Umezu

TOKYO — On one level the Japanese Ministry of Defense latest budget request for the financial year starting April appears to be business as usual, as the Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) chugs along with its piecemeal procurement of 42 F-35s and decisions on the eventual replacement of its aging F-2 and F-15 fleets shelved.

Behind this, the ASDF has signaled perhaps a more fundamental force shift south to better deter threats to Japan’s long southeastern island chain, or Nansei Shoto. Into the mix, last week’s unveiling of the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI)-developed X-2 Shinshin stealth fighter demonstrator hints that Japan wants to at least pitch in domestic technologies and productions for those later F-2 and F-15 replacements.

The ASDF will spend around ¥135 billion (US $1.1 billion) to purchase six F-35s and around ¥3.8 billion yen on upgrades to its F-2s, with some ¥29.4 billion yen allocated to local Japanese F-35 assemblers.

Japan opted for the F-35 in 2011 to replace its vintage F-4 Phantoms at a then-estimated cost of about US $8 billion, while opting to continuously upgrade its F-2s and F-15s to maintain air superiority over the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), according to the Defense Ministry.

If there is a big shift occurring in Japanese force posture, however, it’s south, with the ASDF doubling its number of F-15s to about 40 to Naha to form a new 9th Air Wing to fend of increasingly aggressive PLAAF probing of the Nansei Shoto, which last year provoked 441 ASDF scrambles, double that of 2011, according to JMoD.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: Japan Unveils First Homegrown Stealth Plane

Japan on Thursday unveiled its first stealth fighter jet, officials said, with the maiden test flight planned for next month.

The defense ministry's acquisition agency showed off the domestically developed, radar-dodging X-2 fighter at a regional airport near the central city of Komaki.

Its first flight is scheduled in mid-February before delivery to the defense ministry by the end of March next year, the acquisition agency said.

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

Read the full story at DefenseNews

Editorial: Japan’s 5th Generation Stealth Fighter to Make Maiden Flight in Early 2016

By Franz-Stefan Gady

According to Japan’s Defense Ministry, the maiden flight will be preceded by taxiing and ground trials.

Japan’s Ministry of Defense Technical Research and Development Institute (TRDI) announced that a prototype of Tokyo’s first indigenously-designed fifth-generation air superiority fighter, the Mitsubishi ATD-X Shinshin, will make its maiden flight in February 2016, according to Japanese media reports.

Prior to its first test-flight, the aircraft will undergo extensive taxiing and ground trials at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries testing center located in Aichi Prefecture on Japan’s main island of Honshu. From there the fighter prototype is expected to fly to Gifu Air Field, an airbase of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, situated in the neighboring prefecture of Gifu sometime in February.

The principal objective of the ATD-X Shinshin program is to develop a research prototype aircraft an–“advanced technology demonstration unit” to test the capacity of Japan’s defense industry to develop, among other things, a powerful fighter engine and various other indigenous stealth fighter aircraft technologies.

The program is meant to eventually produce Japan’s first indigenously-designed fifth-generation air superiority fighter, designated F-3, with serial production slated to begin in 2027, although various delays in the development of the ATD-X Shinshin prototype –scheduled to be fully developed by 2018– make a later date more likely.

Read the full story at The Diplomat

News Story: 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.

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.

Read the full story at Air Recognition

Editorial: Who Will Win Asia's Fifth-Generation Fighter Race?

China's J-31 Stealth Fighter Prototype (File Photo)

By Benjamin David Baker

China, Japan, South Korea and India are all developing advanced aircraft. How and why is this happening?

Tensions are rising high throughout the Asia-Pacific. From the Indo-Pakistani border, through Australia’s controversial border policies to China’s disputes with its neighbors in the South and East China Seas, Asian states have been increasing investments in their military capabilities. In all these cases, having forceful and credible aerial assets is a crucial part of deterrence. This is reflected in regional defense spending.

Meanwhile, the world is facing a generational shift in military aircraft. Since the final decade of the Cold War, the skies have been dominated by so-called “fourth-generation” combat aircraft: supersonic jets with increasingly sophisticated electronic capabilities, equipped with weaponry able to engage the enemy over several kilometers distance. These still make up the backbone of basically every modern air force around the world.

However, several states with large budgets and a high degree of military research and development spending are attempting to develop so-called “fifth-generation” aircraft. These jets incorporate stealth technology, which makes them difficult to detect on radar, powerful and secure communications, and advanced sensors that help pilots and ground control teams to keep “full spectrum dominance” of the battlespace.

The U.S. has been leading the way in this field. Although there is some contention as to what actually qualifies a combat aircraft for inclusion into the fifth-generation category, most sources agree that only one currently fully operational model meets the criteria: the Lockheed-Martin F-22 Raptor. The specs surrounding this aircraft are closely guarded secrets, and Washington does not export it to even close allies. Lockheed-Martin’s other fifth-generation aircraft, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, is slated for export to a number of allied states. However, the F-35 remains mired in controversy due to delays, overshot budgets, and technical glitches (see here, here and here).

The United States isn’t alone in its ambition to field fifth-generation tech. Several Asian countries are attempting to develop their own fifth-generation aircraft. China is attempting to design and produce a fighter which can offset the American advantage. In response, both Japan and South Korea are in the process of acquiring their own indigenous fifth-generation birds, with varying amounts of technology borrowed from the F-35. India is also pursuing a next-generation aircraft (although New Delhi’s is mostly looking to Moscow and its own indigenous research and development for its needs).

Read the full story at The Diplomat

News Story: Japan's ATD-X fighter has PLA in mind - Sina Military

Japans ATD-X Prototype (File Photo)

Japan is developing its Mitsubishi ATD-X experimental aircraft with a showdown against the People's Liberation Army Air Force in mind, says the Beijing-based Sina Military Network.

The ATD-X, known in Japan as Shinshin, meaning "spirit of the heart," is a research prototype being used to determine whether domestic technologies for a fifth-generation fighter are viable. If successful, the ATD-X will undergo further development and modifications in the hopes of leading to an F-3 fighter that will enter service starting 2035.

The experimental aircraft is currently under development by the Japanese Ministry of Defense Technical Research and Development Institute, with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) signed on as the main contractor of the project.

Test flights are set to begin this year and are expected to be completed by 2018.

Read the full story at Want China Times

News Story: Japan to test fly F-3 stealth fighter this summer

ATD-X / F-3 Stealth Fighter Prototype (File Photo)

The highly anticipated F-3, Japan's first domestically-made stealth jet, is aiming to conduct test flights this summer, reports the PLA Daily, a China-based media outlet for the People's Liberation Army.

If the tests are successful, the F-3 will represent a breakthrough for Japan in terms of stealth capabilities and high-powered engine technology, the report said. The advanced fifth-generation fighter, which originates from Japan's advanced technology demonstrator-experimental (ATD-X) program, has been designed to deliver superior performance in the four major quality indicators of stealth, supersonic cruise capability, maneuverability and integrated avionics systems.

In terms of stealth technology, the F-3's exterior is said to contain absorbing materials that can reduce radar reflection. Apart from evading radar detection, the aircraft also aims to eliminate visible light signals, electronic signals, heat and noise in order to minimize detectability.

The cruise capability of the F-3 will rely on its 15-ton-level high-powered engine co-developed by Japan's IHI Corporation and the Technical Research and Development Institute of the country's Ministry of Defense. The engine will reportedly feature XF5-1 low-bypass turbofan technology and composite ceramic materials highly resistant to heat.

Read the full story at Want China Times

Editorial: US-Japan Alliance - Still 'Spear and Shield'?

By Ankit Panda

Don’t let the current defense guideline overhaul fool you. The broad contours of the U.S.-Japan alliance won’t change.

Under their 1960 Treaty of Mutual Cooperation, the United States and Japan are military allies. Additionally, Japan’s post-war constitution restricts its ability to wage war, committing it to pacifism and the use of a limited military for the purposes of self-defense exclusively. To complement its limited self-defense capability, Japan relies on a robust United States military presence within its territory to ensure its broader security. For the longest time, numerous officials on both sides described the underlying military and strategic dynamics of this partnership as that of a “spear and shield.” The United States’ formidable offensive capabilities were the “spear” to be paired with Japan’s “shield.” After all, Japan, with its aptly named Self-Defense Forces, could hardly aspire to much more given the circumstances.

The “spear and shield” metaphor is to be contrasted with earlier characterizations of Japan’s post-war defense posture as that of a hedgehog — a meek rodent with an nonthreatening bite, but protected from every angle by its spines. In the 1970s, the Ground Self-Defense Forces spoke in favor of a “hedgehog defense” strategy, calling for Japan to hunker down with the bare minimum required for self-defense. It wasn’t until U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Japanese Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki’s defense consultations in the early 1980s that the seeds of the contemporary “sword and shield” balance was set. As Glenn D. Hook remarks, the shift in metaphor was significant: “The purely defensive image of the hedgehog is thus replaced with an image of both defense (Japan) and offense (United States).” Later in the 1980s, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone referred to Japan as an “unsinkable aircraft carrier” — a controversial metaphor considering that was precisely what U.S. forces on the eastern front called Pacific atolls and islands during the campaign against Imperial Japan. In the context of the Cold War, an unsinkable U.S. carrier off the Soviet Union’s eastern frontier was a provocative image. 

Read the full story at The Diplomat

News Story: PLA to buy 700 stealth fighters, says Jane's

China's J-20 Stealth Fighter Prototype (File Photo)

The PLA Air Force and Navy Air Force are likely to purchase 700 new stealth fighters, said Edward Hunt, a senior defense consultant at IHS Aerospace, Defense & Security in an article written for the UK-based Jane's Defence Weekly.

The United States alone will purchase 2,616 fifth-generation stealth fighters, including the F-22 and F-35 designed by Lockheed Martin, according to the article. Members of NATO including Great Britain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, Turkey and Canada are planning to purchase a combined 600 F-35 fighters. In the Asia-Pacific region, Japan, South Korea and Australia will purchase an estimated 300 F-35s.

Read the full story at Want China Times