According to the Asian Times website in Hong Kong on January 17, Japan and the United Kingdom have announced plans to cooperate in engine research and development in the sixth-generation fighter project. This is the two countries joining hands to seize the opportunity in the global fighter development competition.
According to the report, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Ishikawajima Harima Heavy Industries Group will lead the research and development work in Japan, while Rolls-Royce and British Aerospace Systems will be responsible for the research and development work in the United Kingdom.
The report also said that the two countries will also conduct a "joint air-to-air" missile program and intend to sign a memorandum of cooperation to share technology. Following a joint feasibility study, joint research and development work on the engine is scheduled to begin in April 2022.
The cooperation between Japan and the United Kingdom reflects the need for a dedicated air superiority platform between the two sides. While both countries are using U.S.-made F-35 fifth-generation fighters, they are designed best suited for strike missions, rather than gaining air superiority.
This shows a lack of confidence in the air-to-air combat capabilities of the F-35.
The report pointed out that there is no consensus on the definition of the sixth-generation fighter, but the sixth-generation fighter may use the following technologies, such as modular design, optional manned capabilities, drone swarms, directed energy weapons, machine learning, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and augmented reality.
According to the report, Japan's F-X sixth-generation fighter program aims to balance opponents by installing a new air superiority fighter. Japan plans to start production of the F-X series in 2031 and enter service in 2035. Japan's approximately 200 F-15 fighters are increasingly overloaded.
Britain's Storm project is scheduled to replace the Typhoon's fourth-generation fighter jets as an air superiority platform by 2035 and complement the strike capabilities of Britain's F-35 fleet. The project aims to rebuild Britain's air superiority capabilities. This capability has not been valued because of its previous focus on the war on terror.
This demand is reflected in the UK's 2021 Defence Strategic Command Document. The document stresses the need for Britain to gain air superiority in a conflict with potential powers such as Russia.
The F-35 is not the best option for gaining air superiority, and the need to speed up research and development and share the cost of research and development may be the reason why the United Kingdom chose to cooperate with Japan at the beginning of the "Storm" project.
In addition to the joint Japanese and British sixth-generation fighter program, France and Germany are also collaborating on a similar approach, the Future Air Combat Systems (FCAS) project.
The FCAS program aims to replace France's Rafale fighter jets and Germany's Typhoon fighters in the 2040s and will be one of Europe's largest defense cooperation programs. The FCAS project aims to produce a prototype by 2026, complete research and development by 2030, and be operational by 2040.
At the same time, the United States is also implementing the "next generation of air superiority" program. A prototype is said to have flown test last year. The project is designed to maintain U.S. leadership in air superiority. But little is known about it because the United States hasn't released much about the highly classified program.
Source: Reference News Network
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