Japan announces plans for a new Stealth fighter
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Hong Kong (CNN)Japan has announced plans to build one of the world's most sophisticated stealth jet fighters, likely a twin-engine aircraft designed to take over the country's critical air defense role sometime in the next decade.
The Ministry of Defense this week told members of the Diet, the country's parliament, that the new sixth-generation fighters would begin production in fiscal year 2031 and replace the country's aging fleet of almost 100 F-2 jets, single-engine fourth-generation fighters modeled after American F-16s, according to Japan's national broadcaster NHK News.
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News of Japan's fighter development comes as the US State Department approved the sale of more than 100 US F-35 fighter jets to Japan.
The sale would consist of 63 F-35A jets, which take off from runways, and 42 F-35B jets, which require a short takeoff roll and can landing vertically. Those would be used on Japanese helicopter destroyers, essentially small aircraft carriers it will upgrade to handle the F-35Bs.
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With the new purchases, Japan plans to operate 147 of the F-35s. Its first squadron of 13 planes went operational last year at Misawa Air Base on the northern edge of the country's main island of Honshu.
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