Japan decided to follow the path of countries that independently develop fifth-generation fighters. The development of a new combat aircraft began in the Land of the Rising Sun back in 2004. At the same time, initially, the prospects for this project raised a lot of questions, and the Japanese military themselves considered the possibility of acquiring ready-made fifth-generation combat aircraft from the United States, regarding it as a faster and cheaper option. Despite this, over time, the aircraft, which was considered a demonstrator of Japan's new military capabilities and technologies and the development of stealth technology, turned into an independent project of a fifth generation fighter, which still has prospects of becoming a full-fledged serial combat aircraft.
At the same time, the Japanese are in no hurry to develop a new combat aircraft. So far, only one prototype is ready, which made its first flight on April 22, 2016. The aircraft is currently undergoing testing. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries representatives emphasize that the Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin aircraft is only a prototype, the developments on which can be used in the models of future fighters. It is expected that the combat version, which will receive the designation F-3, is likely to be adopted by the Japanese Air Self-Defense Forces no earlier than 2030.
It is curious that if the Japanese manage to bring the project of their fifth generation fighter into service and mass production, Japan will become a country operating both domestic and American fifth generation fighters. Japan is currently receiving F-35A fighters under previously signed contracts. Most likely, the Land of the Rising Sun acquired 42 such aircraft and is considering the possibility of acquiring another 20 such aircraft. Also in Japan, they are seriously considering the possibility of buying an F-35B short take-off and vertical landing fighter, which can be used to equip existing Japanese helicopter carriers. As part of the Air Force, the American F-35A will replace the obsolete F-4J Kai Phantom fighters.
Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshi
The Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin (Japanese Soul) is a fifth-generation Japanese light fighter, designed using stealth technology, and is being developed by the Technical Design Institute (TRDI) of the Japanese Ministry of Defense. The main contractor in the work on the aircraft is the well-known Japanese company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The decision to create an aircraft to demonstrate advanced military developments was made in Japan in 2004. It was the prologue to the creation of its own fifth-generation Japanese fighter, which is being developed using modern stealth technologies. Already in 2004, the airframe of the aircraft, designated Mitsubishi X-2, was tested for radar signature. The following year, Japan began testing a remotely controlled model of the future aircraft, made on a scale of 1: 5. In 2007, after the United States refused to sell fifth-generation F-22 Raptor fighters to Japan, the Japanese government decided to build full-size flight prototypes of a promising aircraft - Mitsubishi ATD-X (Advance Technology Demonstrator-X), a demonstration and test stand for various modern technologies and the latest Japanese avionics and electronics.
Ten years later, the experienced fifth-generation Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin light fighter took to the skies. It is a single-seat aircraft with a wingspan of about 9 meters and a length of 14.2 meters. The empty weight of the aircraft is about 9700 kg. The new Japanese aircraft is very close in size to the Swedish light fighter Saab Gripen, and in shape is close to the American F-22 Raptor fighter. The dimensions and angle of inclination of the vertical tail of the Japanese fighter, as well as the shape of the influx and air intakes, are identical to those used on the American fifth generation fighter. Perhaps the plane is only a miniature copy of the future F-3 fighter; in the future it will increase in size, retaining its shape and appearance. Despite its small size, there is every reason to believe that some of the most advanced flight controls at the moment are installed inside the Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin. Specialists are also interested in the engines developed for the fifth generation Japanese fighter by the IHI corporation, which are distinguished by good technical indicators.
The Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin is built using stealth technology and extensive use of composite materials. According to a Japanese Defense Ministry official, the prototype has a larger effective dispersion area than an insect, but less than a medium-sized bird. It is known that the fighter has two turbojet engines and can reach supersonic flight speed without using afterburner. On the first prototype, IHI XF5-1 engines with a controlled thrust vector are installed, three “petals” at the nozzle of each of the jet engines are responsible for deflecting the jet stream. At the same time, work is in full swing in Japan to create a more advanced FX9-1 engine, which may appear on serial Mitsubishi F-3 fighters.
Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshi
Most of the systems that are being developed in Japan for the fifth generation fighter are still under active development or are highly classified. But we can definitely say that the aircraft will receive engines with an adjustable thrust vector, which should ensure the aircraft's maneuverability and controllability even when flying at low speeds. The first prototype is equipped with two IHI Corporation XF5 engines with a maximum thrust of 49 kN each. The engines installed on the prototype are comparable in their power characteristics to the American General Electric F404-GE-400 engines developed for the F / A-18 Hornet carrier-based fighter-bomber.
Of much more interest is the FX9-1 engine. The Japanese corporation IHI completed the assembly of the first prototype of this turbojet engine with afterburner in the summer of 2018. The IHI FX9-1 engine is being created as part of the power plant development program for the promising fifth-generation F-3 fighter. According to the publication Aviation Week, IHI Corporation supplied the prototype of the engine to the specialists of the Aviation Equipment Research Laboratory under the Ministry of Defense of Japan, within the walls of the laboratory it must undergo a full range of ground tests.
It is known that preliminary factory tests of the gas generator, and after the entire XF9-1 turbojet engine assembly have already taken place, these tests were recognized as successful. Now the military research laboratory will take a closer look at the new power plant of the IHI corporation. It is known that the diameter of the fan of the new by-pass turbojet engine is one meter, and the total length is about 4.8 meters. The engine is able to develop thrust up to 107.9 kN in normal mode and up to 147 kN in afterburner mode.
F-22 Raptor
Earlier it was reported that the IHI XF9-1 engine will consist of several stages: 3 in the fan zone, 6 in the high pressure compressor zone and one each in the low and high pressure turbine zones. It is known that engine turbines will rotate in opposite directions. The use of new materials in the design of the power plant should make it possible to bring the temperature of the gases in the high-pressure turbine zone to about 1800 degrees Celsius (2070 Kelvin). For comparison, the current limit for this indicator for jet engines is approximately 1900 Kelvin. When producing the turbine, the Japanese are going to use modern ceramic matrix composites with silicon-carbon fiber. The rotor and stator blades of the turbine are planned to be made of a special monocrystalline alloy based on nickel, and the turbine disk of the XF9-1 engine is made of nickel-cobalt alloy. Other details about the promising Japanese aircraft engine are not yet known.
There are assumptions that all the control systems of the fifth-generation Japanese aircraft will use optical communication technologies, with the help of which huge amounts of information can be transmitted at high speed over optical cables. In addition, optical data transmission channels are not affected by ionizing radiation and electromagnetic pulses. The multifunctional RF Sensor system, which allows the use of two types of electronic suppression of enemy systems, will be complemented by the fighter's coating, which will consist of miniature active antennas, which are nothing more than active stealth technology. The interaction of radio waves falling on the surface of a fifth-generation fighter with radio waves emitted by active antennas will make it possible to control the "invisibility" of the future aircraft over a very wide range.
At the same time, the Self-Repairing Flight Control Capability self-recovery system may become the most innovative system of the future fifth-generation fighter. It is a kind of "nervous system" of the aircraft made of sensors that permeate the entire structure of the fighter and all units. With the help of information from these sensors, the system will be able to find and identify any failure, as well as any damage or malfunction of systems, which will allow the aircraft control system to be recalibrated in order to maximize the ability to maintain control over the aircraft in an unfavorable situation.
Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshi
It was also reported that the new fighter will receive a radar with AFAR, which is being developed by Mitsubishi Electronics. It is argued that the new radar will be comparable in capabilities to the American AN / APG-81 radar (which is installed on F-35 fighters) and will be able to dynamically switch between C and Ku band frequencies. Also, the radar will have to receive built-in electronic warfare capabilities.
The first flight prototype of the fifth-generation Japanese lightweight fighter X-2 Shinshin was shown to the public on January 28, 2016. The car performed its first flight on April 22 of the same year. The flying technology demonstrator is a scaled-down version of the projected fifth-generation F-3 fighter. For this reason, its design did not include internal compartments for the placement of weapons. Presumably, the future F-3 fighter, which has adopted all the successful technologies and developments from the X-2 Shinshin, will be at least comparable in size to the F-15J fighter.
Earlier, the Japanese military has already published its list of requirements for the promising Mitsubishi F-3 fighter. In particular, the new Japanese fighter will have to carry and launch UAVs, which are planned to be used as additional sensors capable of moving away from the carrier aircraft at a certain distance and independently detecting air and ground targets of a potential enemy. Also, the new fighter, at the request of the military, will have to freely fly at speeds up to two Mach numbers (about 2500 km / h).
Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshi during the first flight
The Japanese military has been actively working on the parameters of the future F-3 fighter since the early 2010s. As part of this program, the country is carrying out research and development work on the development of a new radar station, a flying combat aircraft technology demonstrator (Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin) and an engine for a new fighter jet (IHI FX9-1). Initially, work on the project of a promising combat aircraft, which should replace the outdated Mitsubishi F-2 fighters, was expected to begin in 2016-2017, but these dates were postponed indefinitely. The first flight prototype of the new fighter was planned to fly into the sky in 2024-2025. It is likely that by July 2018, Japan had already received enough information from the flight tests of the Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin technology demonstrator to understand that it would need to attract international partners to complete the project to create a promising F-3 fighter. At the same time, the project for the development of the F-3 fighter is estimated at about $ 40 billion.
