Japan's X-2 fifth-generation demonstrator makes maiden flight

The MHI X-2, formerly ATD-X, 'Shinshin' (Spirit) fifth-generation fighter technology demonstrator made its maiden flight on 22 April.
The milestone, which took place a day later than scheduled because of poor weather, saw the experimental aircraft depart from Nagoya Airport before conducting a series of flight characteristics trials. It landed at the Japan Air Self-Defense Force's (JASDF's) Gifu Air Base, some 50 km to the north.
MHI has been developing the aircraft's airframe since 2009.
janes

Japan concludes test of ground of X-2 'Shinshin' stealth fighter

Japan successfully concluded on Thursday the ground test of the prototype of its X-2 stealth fighter jet -- the first fully indigenous model -- making the country the fourth in the world to possess such an aircraft.
The X-2 ground test took place on the runway of Nagoya airport in central Japan. The project is progressing steadily.
The plane - Shinshin -- the code-name for the classified project till its official presentation in January -- has been developed by the defence ministry in collaboration with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and 200 other Japanese firms.
Developing the plane has taken seven years at a cost of $35 million, and is a key step towards upgrading the Japanese Army and also the country's recent plan to export military equipment.
business-standard

Japan’s Stealth Fighter Finally Revealed

This Thursday, Japan’s new Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency revealed the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Advanced Technology Demonstrator – Experimental (ATD-X) fifth-generation fighter technology demonstrator, now dubbed X-2 and unofficially named ‘ShinShin,’ to the media at a heavily guarded hangar at a regional airport near the city of Komaki, in Aichi Prefecture. It has previously been showcased once already in May 2014.
The X-2 is the country’s first domestically produced full-scale test model—a technology demonstrator—of a new indigenous stealth fighter jet design, which has been under development at a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
The aircraft—an will not be armed and is slated to be retired in three years, after having undergone extensive tests of advanced fifth-generation fighter technologies, for which Japan’s Defense Ministry has allocated 2.3 billion yen ($19.3 million) in the next fiscal year alone. It will be a testbed platform for multiple technologies including next generation electronically scanned array radar systems, multi-dimensional 3D thrust vectoring concepts, and fine-tune the aircraft’s stealth capabilities. (The X-2 features a special carbon-fiber composite material that absorbs radar waves.)
The X-2 program’s goal is 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 X-2 prototype including issues with the engine control software –scheduled to be fully developed by 2018– make a later date more likely.
The X-2 with a length of 14.2 meters and a wingspan of 9.1meters is scheduled to make its maiden flight in February 2016.
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.
Lockheed-Martin is purported involved in the development of the X-2 prototype. The American aircraft maker was prohibited from selling its F-22 Raptor stealth air superiority fighter to Japan in the 2000s, causing Tokyo’s defense industry to kick-start development of the X-2.
thediplomat

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

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.
thediplomat

Japan Set to Launch First Homegrown Fighter Jet Since World War II to Counter China

The growing concern of the Chinese neighbour has led Japan to ready its first homegrown fighter jet post World War II. The move by Tokyo is reportedly a bid to counter China's growing military prowess.
The Advanced Technology Demonstrator-X (ATD – X), a stealth jet fighter, which has been in the making for four years, is expected to take to the skies for the first time in January next year.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is currently undertaking a final ground test of the prototype fighter also referred to as 'Shinshin', which it will deliver to Japan's Defence Ministry in April next year.
The government is expected to conduct further tests to verify the jet's capabilities before it decides on production of the aircrafts in 2018.
This is the first time that Japan will break away from joint production with the United States and make fighter jets domestically. Japan was reportedly forced into a joint development agreement by the US in 1987 in exchange of US-made engines for the F-2 fighter jets.
The Shinshin is touted to be the successor to the F-2 fighter jet.
However, the main reason for developing a homegrown jet goes beyond national pride, and is essentially focused on countering Chinese aggression.
China currently has about 670 fighter jets, while Japan lags behind at 260.
ibtimes

Japan’s new stealth jet fighter has been officially unveiled

Mitsubishi ATD-X Shinshin stealth fighter has rolled out.
Last month, a leaked, blurry image provided an interesting preview of the first prototype of the Advanced Technology Demonstrator-X (ATD-X), the indigenous war plane that Japan Air Self-Defense Force will operate in the air defense role, replacing the ageing Mitsubishi F-2.
On Jul. 12, the first official photos of the ATD-X (serialled 51-0001) were released by the Japanese Ministry of Defense Technical Research and Development Institute (TRDI), the Ministry of Defense’s agency that has developed the Shinshin (“spirit of the heart”, an early codename within the Japan Self Defense Force) for research purposes.
Indeed, the ATD-X will be used for the development of the F-3, Japan’s next generation stealth jet.
Noteworthy, the “new” images were taken on May 8, 2014, when the painting of the canted vertical tails radar-evading air superiority fighter with enhanced maneuverability ended.
defence.pk

Japan's indigenous stealth jet prototype 'to fly this year'

Japanese Defence Minister has reaffirmed the nation's plan for a 2014 first flight of the Advanced Technology Demonstrator-X (ATD-X) fighter, the future fighter to replace the Japan Air Self-Defence Force's Mitsubishi F-2.
The ATD-X, also known as Shinshin, is being developed by the ministry's Technical Research and Development Institute, with the main contractor of the project being MHI. It has been designed to be a stealthy air-superiority fighter with enhanced manoeuvrability. The Japanese Ministry of Defence (MoD) will use it to research advanced technologies and system integration, after which it plans to produce a 'sixth-generation' fighter encompassing i3 (informed, intelligent and instantaneous) concepts and counter-stealth capabilities.
Japan's plans to develop an 'F-3' from the ADT-X could run into opposition from the United States, however, which has blocked Tokyo's attempts to develop an indigenous fighter in the past.
With China and Russia deploying the Chengdu J-20 and Sukhoi PAK-FA T-50 fifth-generation aircraft respectively, Japan's development of a fast stealth fighter is becoming vital to national air defence. Japan has 28 radar sites effective at detecting third- and fourth-generation fighters from a long distance, but with the appearance of fifth-generation fighters, it's not known how they will perform.
janes