Japan 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 Nagoya Airport in
Toyoyama town. 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 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 $332 million to develop the aircraft.