Agence France-Presse, Japan has postponed its plan to purchase next-generation aircraft until after mid-2010 since the United States has banned exports of the planes the country wants to buy, a newspaper said Dec. 16.
Japan had originally planned to acquire seven next-generation fighters by March 2010 to replace its F-4 fighters, with the U.S. state-of-the-art F-22 Raptor seen as a prime candidate.
But the defense ministry has decided to reschedule the purchase plan to its next midterm defense buildup program starting in April 2010, due to a U.S. ban on exporting F-22s, the Yomiuri Shimbun said.
The ministry instead plans to upgrade its current main fighters, including 32 F-15s, for the fiscal year starting in April 2008 in an effort to make up for the purchase cancellation, the newspaper said.
Japanese government officials had earlier hinted that it may buy next-generation aircraft from a third country unless Washington lifts the ban on Raptor exports.
Japan has officially been pacifist since World War II but has been gradually expanding the role of its military, in part due to concern over nuclear-armed North Korea.
The United States, Japan’s primary ally, has banned all exports of its F-22, which is built to evade radar detection at supersonic speeds, due to concerns of possible leaks to a third country of classified technology used in the fighter.
Japanese police arrested a senior navy officer last week over a leak of secret data on the U.S. high-tech Aegis combat system, fuelling Washington’s concerns.
Despite the congressional prohibition on exports, the United States has pledged to defend its key Asian ally and flew the Raptor to Japan this year on its first foreign flight.
