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| Stealth Jet Fighter |
Japan
on Thursday unveiled its first stealth fighter jet, officials
said, with the
maiden test flight planned for next month.
The
defence ministry's acquisition agency showed off the domestically developed,
radar-dodging X-2 fighter at a regional airport near the central city of
Komaki.
Its first
flight is scheduled in mid-February before delivery to the defence ministry by
the end of March next year, the acquisition agency said.
The X-2,
developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, measures 14.2 metres (47 feet) long
and 9.1 metres wide and was built as a successor to the F-2 fighter jets
developed jointly with the United States.
Presently,
only the United States, Russia and China have been internationally recognised
as having successfully developed and flown manned stealth jets, the agency
said.
Japan has
reportedly spent about 39.4 billion yen ($332 million) to develop the aircraft.
In November Japan's first domestically produced passenger jet, also
developed by Mitsubishi Heavy, made its maiden test flight, a landmark
development for the country after being barred from developing aircraft
following its defeat in World War II.
Source: AFP
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