Aircraft
Growing Links Between Japan’s F-X and Anglo-Italian Tempest
Developing two aircraft with common basic requirements and timeline have drawn Japan and the UK closer together in terms of technology development.
This JMOD released an image depicting a notional F-X design in 2020 and named Mitsubishi Heavy Industries the prime contractor that same year. (Photo: JMOD)
This JMOD released an image depicting a notional F-X design in 2020 and named Mitsubishi Heavy Industries the prime contractor that same year. (Photo: JMOD)

Discussions between Japan and the United Kingdom concerning the development of Japan’s next-generation F-X fighter have been ongoing for five years. During that period, Japan has moved away from early plans to procure a derivative of an existing foreign-designed aircraft or to simply join an existing fighter program, and instead has opted to develop an indigenous fighter from scratch, albeit with input from allied nations. It arrived at the decision following successful trials of the indigenously-developed X-2 technology demonstrator.