The
Mitsubishi F-2 is a
multirole fighter manufactured by
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and
Lockheed Martin for the
Japan Air Self-Defense Force, with a 60/40 split in manufacturing between Japan and the USA. Production started in 1996 and the first aircraft entered service in 2000. The first 76 aircraft entered service in 2008, with a total of 94 airframes under contract.
[1]
In FY2005, Ministry of Defense changed the category from Support Fighter to Fighter.
Development
Work started in the
FS-X program, and began in earnest with a memorandum of understanding between Japan and the United States. It would lead to a new fighter based on the
General Dynamics (post 1993,
Lockheed Martin)
F-16 Fighting Falcon, and in particular the
F-16 Agile Falcon proposal. Lockheed Martin was chosen as the major subcontractor to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and the two companies co-developed and co-produced the aircraft. Some of the early developmental works were actually done under General Dynamics, who sold its aircraft division to Lockheed Martin in 1993. It is essentially an execution of the F-16 Agile Falcon proposal: a late-1980s plan for an enlarged F-16 which was passed over by the U.S. in favor of an all-new fighter program (
Joint Strike Fighter). The F-2 used the wing design of the F-16 Agile Falcon, but much of the electronics were further updated to 1990s standards. The overall concept of the enlarged F-16 by General Dynamics was intended as a cheap counter to the then emerging threat of
Su-27/
MiG-29.
In October 1987, Japan selected the F-16 as the basis of its new secondary fighter,
[3] to replace the aging
Mitsubishi F-1 and supplement its main air superiority fighter, the
F-15J as well as the
F-4EJ. The programme involved technology transfer from the USA to Japan, and responsibility for cost sharing was split 60% by Japan and 40% by USA.
[4] Also during the 1980s, General Dynamics (who developed the F-16) had proposed its F-16 Agile Falcon to the USAF. While the US would pass over the design concept in favor of all-new types (
F-22/JSF) and upgrades to its existing fleet, the enlarged F-16 would find a home in Japan.
The F-2 program was controversial, because the unit cost, which includes development costs, is roughly four times that of a Block 50/52 F-16, which does not include development costs. Inclusion of development costs distorts the incremental unit cost (this happens with most modern military aircraft), though even at the planned procurement levels, the price per aircraft was somewhat high. The initial plan of 141 F-2s would have reduced the unit cost by up to
US$10 million per unit, not including reduced cost from mass production. As of 2008, 94 aircraft were planned.
[1] Also controversial is the amounts claimed to be paid to American side as various licensing fees, although making use of the pre-existing technology was much cheaper than trying to develop it from scratch.
The Japanese may eventually make up to 94, at a cost of roughly US$ 110 million each in 2004 dollars. Much of the F-16 technology used in the F-2 was the subject of some political debate in the U.S. and Japan in the early 1990s. The technology transfers were authorized however, and the project proceeded.
The F-2's maiden flight was on 7 October 1995. Later that year, the Japanese government approved an order for 141 (but that was soon cut to 130), to enter service by 1999; structural problems resulted in service entry being delayed until 2000. Because of issues with cost-efficiency, orders for the aircraft were curtailed to 98 in 2004.
On 31 October 2007, an F-2B crashed during takeoff and subsequently caught fire at
Nagoya Airfield in central Japan. The jet was being taken up on a test flight by Mitsubishi employees, after major maintenance and before being delivered to the JSDF. Both test pilots survived the incident with only minor injuries.
[5] It was eventually determined that improper wiring caused the crash.
[6][7]
On 12 March 2011, 18 F-2s based at the
Matsushima Airbase in
Miyagi Prefecture were swamped by the
tsunami caused by an
9.0 scale earthquake.
[8]
Design
General Electric (engine),
Kawasaki,
Honeywell,
Raytheon,
NEC,
Hazeltine, and
Kokusai Electric are among the other larger participants to varying degrees. Lockheed Martin supplies the aft
fuselage,
leading edge slats, stores management system, a large portion of wing boxes, and other components.
[9] Kawasaki builds the midsection of the fuselage, as well as the doors to the main wheel and the engine,
[4] while forward fuselage and wings are built by Mitsubishi.
[4] Avionics are supplied by Lockheed Martin, and the digital fly-by-wire system has been jointly developed by Japan Aviation Electric and Honeywell (formerly Allied Signal).
[4] Contractors for communication systems and
IFF interrogators include Raytheon, NEC, Hazeltine, and Kokusai Electric.
[4] Final assembly is done in Japan, by MHI at its Komaki-South facility in
Nagoya.
The F-2 has three display screens, including a liquid crystal display from
Yokogawa.
Some differences in the F-2 from the F-16A:
- a 25% larger wing area
- composite materials used to reduce overall weight and radar signature
- longer and wider nose to accommodate a phased-array radar
- larger tailplane
- larger air intake
- three-piece cockpit canopy
- capabilities for four ASM-1 or ASM-2 anti-ship missiles, four AAMs, and additional fuel tanks
Also, the F-2 is equipped with a
drogue parachute, like the version of the
F-16 used by
Netherlands,
Norway,
Greece,
Turkey,
Indonesia,
Taiwan, and
Venezuela.
Variants
- XF-2A:Single-seat prototypes.
- XF-2B:Two-seat prototypes.
- F-2A:Single-seat fighter version.
- F-2B:Two-seat training version.
Operators
Japan
- Air Defense Command
- Northern Air Defense Force
- 3rd Air Wing, Misawa Air Base
- 3rd Tactical Fighter Squadron
- 8th Tactical Fighter Squadron
- Western Air Defense Force
- Air Training Command
- Air Development and Test Command
Accidents and incidents
Specifications (F-2A)
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Avionics
See also
- Related development
- Comparable aircraft
SUMBER WIKIPEDIA
F2
The FS-X's origins can be traced back to the early 1980's and the highly secretive Laboratory Three division of Japan's Technical Research and Development Institute (TRDI). There, studies were being carried out to investigate the options for an indigenous design, combining long range with maneuverability, to meet the particular requirements of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF).
It became clear that the pursuit of a completely indigenous design was unrealistic, and help was to be sought abroad. In October of 1987, the Japanese government announced that it was going to develop a derivative version of the F-16C known as the FS-X, to replace the JASDF's Mitsubishi F-1 support fighters, which were to be phased out of active service in the second half of the 1990's.
The program was launched in November 1988 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the governments of Japan and the United States, and marked the first joint fighter development program between Japan and the United States. The fighter was to be used exclusively by the Japan Air Self Defense Force and therefore development was completely funded by Japan. Primary missions of the new aircraft were be sea lane protection, beach defense and anti-invasion.
The FS-X (Fighter Support Experimental) is being developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as prime contractor with Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Fuji Heavy Industries as principal subcontractors. Development workload has been split approximately 60/40, with the Japanese partners responsible for the larger share. The FS-X is quite similar in appearance to the F-16, but structural modifications include:
Japanese-designed co-cured composite wing of greater span (1.7m wider) and root chord, with slightly less leading edge sweep. The composites give the wing added strength while reducing the weight;
increased span tailplane;
slightly reshaped and enlarged radome and forward fuselage (fuselage length has increased by 0.5m);
slightly altered Leading-Edge Root Extensions (LERX).
Overall, the FS-X is substantially larger than the F-16, resulting in a maximum take-off weight of 49,000lb, compared to the F-16C's 42,000lb, although both are powered by the same 129kN (29,000lb)-thrust General Electric F110-129 turbofan engine. Other FSX structural-design changes include radar-absorbent material (RAM) applied to the aircraft's nose, wing leading-edges and engine inlet, the use of titanium in the tail and fuselage, the addition of a braking parachute and a two-piece canopy reinforced against large bird strikes.
The primary difference, although less conspicuous than the structural modifications, between the FS-X and the F-16 is in the use of Japanese domestic technology for much of the avionics, including:
a new Mitsubishi Electric (Melco)-designed active phased-array radar comprising 800 3W gallium-arsenide transmit/receive modules;
Yokogawa LCD multi-function display (MFD);
Shimadzu holographic head-up display (HUD);
internal Mitsubishi Electric integrated electronic warfare system;
Japan Aviation Electronics laser inertial-navigation system backed-up with four conventional gyros;
Japan has also been forced to develop its own fly-by-wire software by the US Government's refusal to release the F-16s computer source codes. The FS-X's software is based on MHI's control-configured vehicle (CCV) research program flown in the early 1980's using a modified Mitsubishi T-2 trainer.
The first of four FS-X flight-test aircraft (JASDF serial number 63-0001) rolled out of the "Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Komaki South Plant" in Japan on January 12, 1995, and made its first flight on Oct 7, 1995, at Mitsubishi's Nagoya test facilities. During the maiden flight (which lasted for 38 minutes), the 43-year-old test pilot, Yoshiyuki Watanabe, was at the controls.
The whole development program involves four flying prototypes (two single-seaters and two TFS-X combat-capable tandem two-seat variants), plus two structural-ground-test airframes.
The Japanese congress approved the production program in mid 1996. Japan's government plans to procure a total of 130 F-2 aircraft, despite earlier significant questions in Japan regarding military needs and budgets, and rumours that the number would be cut to 70. Production deliveries of the F-2 will begin in 1999 and continue through 2011.
Lockheed Martin's participation in the production of the Japan Air Self Defense Force's new F-2 fighter officially began in October 1996, with the award of a $75 million contract from the F-2 prime contractor, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). The contract was awarded to Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems (LMTAS) of Fort Worth, Texas. LMTAS was the principal U.S. subcontractor during the development phase of the FS-X, and will continue to have major involvement in the production of the aircraft. "Lockheed Martin has had an outstanding relationship with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and with the Japan Defense Agency during the development phase of the F-2, and we look forward to continuing that relationship as we enter into production," said Don Jones, the Japan F-2 Program Director at Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems. The initial contract award represents the beginning of what should be over $2.5 billion in contracts awarded to Lockheed Martin during the 15-year program.
Lockheed Martin will produce all the aircraft aft fuselages, all the wing leading-edge flaps and 8 of 10 left-hand wing boxes for the FS-X prototypes. The work will be performed at the company's Fort Worth plant, where it is expected to provide about 700 jobs at peak. Lockheed Martin is also providing all of the Stores Management Systems, some of the avionics support equipment and all of the data entry electronics units for the F-2.
Lockheed Martin has received extensive data on Japanese manufacturing processes during the aircraft development phase, as the result of two-way technology transfer agreements. The company will manufacture the F-2 wing boxes from composite materials using unique cocuring methods transferred to the United States by Japanese industry. Transfer of this technology started in 1990 with material testing.
http://www.airforceworld.com/fighter/eng/f2.htm
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