SOURCE:Flight International

Japan's ATD-X stealth fighter suffers funding crunch
By Siva Govindasamy


Japan is unlikely to get the funding required to construct a stealth
fighter demonstrator in 2008, with industry sources expecting the
finance ministry to release only enough money to continue design and
technology studies.

The ATD-X project has been in the works for several years, and the
defence ministry's Technical Research and Development Institute received
the go-ahead last year to build and fly a small demonstrator. The
project appeared to take on added urgency after the USA refused to
provide information on the Lockheed Martin F-22 for Japan's upcoming F-X
fighter competition.

But money is tight, with the defence ministry also keen to accelerate
upgrades to its Mitsubishi Heavy Industries/Boeing F-15s, and Tokyo's
procurement budget also continuing to fall. The ATD-X project received
only ¥7 billion ($43 million) of the ¥49.9 billion that the TRDI had
requested last year, and industry sources say this year is also likely
to be disappointing.

"Given the gloomy economic prognosis for the coming years, budgets are
likely to shrink even further. As a result, the MoD will most likely
have to prioritise the F-15 upgrades over the ATD-X programme," says a
Tokyo-based industry source.

MHI, which has licence-produced most of Japan's fighters, is the lead
contractor for the new programme. The ATD-X is similar in size to the
Saab Gripen, and will be powered by two Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy
Industries XF5 afterburning, thrust-vectoring engines derived from the
XF7 turbofan powering Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries XP-1 maritime
patrol aircraft.