(Reuters) - The head of U.S. military forces in Asia and the Pacific predicted Friday that Japan's choice of a new multibillion-dollar fighter fleet would reflect plans to stay "very complementary" with U.S. air forces.Lets see...a rising China...no European capability or forces in the area...two of its major allies operate the F-18 and will soon operate the F-35...and despite the thoughts by some that the F-18 is inadequate, most know the truth--its a very effective fighter.
Proposals are due in Tokyo on Monday from the three rivals for Japan's so-called F-X deal -- Boeing Co (BA.N) and Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) of the United States and Europe's Eurofighter GmbH consortium, made up of Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain.Japan is expected to buy 42 planes, a deal experts say could be worth $6 billion to $8 billion, including spares, pilot training and related gear.U.S. Navy Admiral Robert Willard, head of the Hawaii-based, U.S. Pacific Command, stopped short of predicting that Tokyo would pick Boeing's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet or Lockheed's radar-evading F-35 Lightning II over the Eurofighter Typhoon.But he said Japanese defense forces "understand the importance of remaining interoperable with the United States, their ally that is home based in Japan or being hosted in Japan, as well as U.S. forces that are deployed in the region.""And I think have confidence that the decision that they make on this next fighter will reflect that," he added in an interview with Reuters.Pressed to say whether the Americans would best the Europeans, Willard replied: "No, I wouldn't go that far."But he said he was confident that Japanese commanders will make sure that whichever plane they buy "remains interoperable and very complementary to our capabilities."
All that add up to Willard probably being right. Welcome aboard the F-35 program Japan!
On one hand, F35B would be able to do something from their new "destroyers" with minimal modification.
ReplyDeleteOn the other, Japan's the country that managed to build a 120M$ F-16. Building licensed F18 might appeal better to their constituencies.
Ferran
PS: I finally managed to cook that post I owed you. Check your mail.
Why doesn't anyone seem concerned about what Japan actually wants this fighter for?
ReplyDeleteIt's to replace the F-4EJ Kai Phantom, which they use for Air Defence, Maritime strike and reconaissance.
Of these, the Typhoon is clearly less optimised for the maritime strike and recon roles. It's a very capable air to air fighter, but needs a significant amount of development as does the F-35 to fill all of these roles. The integration of an anti-shipping weapon is no simple task, it's time consuming and expensive, however Japan will probably be willing to do this, given it usually designs it's own ASM's.
Of the 3, only the F/A-18E/F is fully capable in all required roles today, albeit with US weapons. The competition therefore would seem to hinge on how urgent Japan perceives it's need to be.
They won't because of the Kurile Islands but they could become a Sukhoi buyer too.
ReplyDeleteAussie Digger...aren't the Norwegians working on integrating an anti-shipping missile into the F-35??? besides its not hard if you're doing strike missions against ships...everyone gets stuck on its stealth profile but it can hang missiles off pylons just like a normal fighter. the issue you bring up is hardly a show stopper for the F-35.
ReplyDeleteTrue, but JSF program hasn't signed off on integrating JSM, the only weapon it possesses, besides GBU's for ASM at present is the JSOW-C1 and I'm not sure you want you're entire tacair anti-shipping capability dependant on glide weapons...
ReplyDeleteMy point was on the relative timelines of the Japanese requirement. If urgent, Shornet is the only option. If it's less urgent than I suspect the choice will be between F-35 and Tiffy.
I only think the Tiffy is there to keep the competition honest though. I think the real choce will be between Shornet and F-35. Shornet if they need to replace those F-4KEJ Kais quickly or F-35 if they can afford to wait and don't want to be the only major power in Asia not operating LO aircraft in 2020 and beyond...
and i think your last sentence is the most pertinent! if they operate Typhoons or SH then they'll be (probably anyway) the only major power in the Pacific without a LO airplane.
ReplyDeletethat would put them in a horrible position and for a race of people that seem to pride themselves on their technological power it would appear to be something they couldn't stand for.
as for the time table of them buying the airplane...i don't see that as a real issue. even if they need it within the next 5 years then the program should be more than up and running and i'm sure that spaces could be found for them to get their airplanes ahead of say the Italians or even the USAF.
i wonder if maybe a dual buy is good for Japan. why not buy one or two squadrons of SHornets now, and then complement with the JSF? the SHornets are still a very capable aircraft, and will be so when JSF enters service, SHornet could do naval strike capability while JSF could do air-to-air and recon.
ReplyDeleteBecause that would leave the Japanese Air Self Defence Force with 4 tacair types. It has a large fleet of F-15's to take care of it's air to air needs and the F-16 clone, the F-2 as it's multi-role type. It's only looking for a single type to replace it's F-4 because it's F-2's suck and cost twice what an F-16 does, however it's planned replacement is Japan's embryonic ATD-X low observable indigenous type, if this type proves a success then Japan may not require the F-35, in the longer term, which may favour a cheapish short term replacement like the Shornet. OTOH building a F-35 beater on a limited budget is going to become a very large challenge...
ReplyDeleteA JSM integrated on the Eurofighter would be an interesting proposition more so if Lockheed Martin does not allow its integration on the JSF by Kongsberg. Given it's dimensions (without the need for a rocket booster), it could well fit on the four wing-pylons that typically carry 1,000 lb paverways. You would instantly give the Typhoon excellent stand-off anti-ship/land attack capability without compromising its range.
ReplyDeleteMBDA is already considering integrating the Marte-ER (a similar, but older/less capable weapon) on the Typhoon.
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?topicName=dubai_2011&id=news/awx/2011/11/14/awx_11_14_2011_p0-394043.xml&headline=Marte-ER%20Integration%20On%20Typhoons%20Eyed%20For%20India