Bradley Perrett covered China, Japan, South Korea and Australia. He is a Mandarin-speaking Australian.
Before joining Aviation Week in 2006 he was a macroeconomics, politics and aerospace journalist with Reuters. Perrett holds a bachelor’s degree in law from Macquarie University, Sydney. He left Aviation Week in 2020.
Japan, it seems, is not betting on the Lockheed Martin F-35 as an air-superiority fighter. Denied permission to buy Lockheed's F-22, Tokyo is preparing to operate at least some of its Boeing F-15s for another 30 years, even though it will also have the F-35.
NAGOYA, Japan — Tight budgets and the rejection of obvious replacements are likely to push Japan to operate its 201 F-15J and F-15JD Eagle fighters for 30 more years, with major upgrades likely necessary.
Japan plans to begin development of its next homegrown fighter within five years, with the aim of beginning production under the designation F-3 around 2027. While the schedule suggests Japan may want to merge the F-3 into the U.S. Next Generation Tacair effort, Japan is laying the groundwork for going its own way by investing in stealth technology and building its own powerful fighter engine. IHI Corp. is to develop a technology-demonstrator engine of 15 metric tons (33,000 lb.) thrust, according to an official document.
