Japan is slowly but surely moving towards creating its own new-generation fighter. Yesterday, on July 4, the Asahi news agency reported that Rolls-Royce and IHI Corporation announced a partnership in creating an engine for the FX aircraft.
According to unofficial information, the partners will not only develop a new engine for a promising fighter, but will also offer it for export. This approach should speed up and reduce the cost of creating a jet engine.
A rendering of a promising Japanese fighter
Image source: ukdefencejournal.org.uk
The program for the development of a promising fighter, previously known as the Future Fighter and F-3, was later officially renamed FX. The FX development project is designed for fifteen years and will cost about $15 billion. Earlier, Japan has already built and tested a technology demonstrator for a new generation fighter called the ATD-X Shinshin, also known as the Mitsubishi X-2.
