The Mitsubishi F-2 is a Japanese fighter aircraft manufactured by Mitsubishi. It is based on the Lockheed Martin F-16 and that company is a major subcontractor to Mitsubishi.

History

In October 1987, Japan selected the F-16 as the basis of its new fighter, to replace the Mitsubishi F-1 . The F-2 programme has been controversial, because the unit cost is roughly 4 times that of a Block 50/52 F-16, but this demonstates Japan's commitment to its aerospace industry.

Some differences in the F-2 from the F-16:

• a 25% larger wing area
• radar absorbent materials have been used on the leading edges
• longer nose to accommodate a phased-array radar
• larger tailplane

The F-2's maiden flight was on October 7, 1995. Later that year, the Japanese government approved an order for 130, to enter service by 1999; structural problems resulted in service entry being delayed until 2001.

Because of issues with cost-efficiency, orders for the aircraft were severely curtailed in 2004.

Characteristics

• Role: single seat fighter
• Powerplant: General Electric F110-GE-129 turbofan giving 76 kN (17,000 lbf) military thrust and 131 kN (29,500 lbf) maximum thrust with afterburner
• Size:
  • Length: 15.52 m
  • Height: 4.69 m
  • Wingspan: 11.13 m
  • Wing area: 34.84 m²
• Weight:
  • Empty: 9,527 kg
  • Normal takeoff: 15,000 kg (?)
  • Maximum: 22,100 kg
• Speed: mach 2.0 at altitude
• Ceiling: about 18 km.
• Range:
  • on anti-ship mission: 834 km
  • Ferry: ? km
• Wing loading: 430 kg/m² at weight of 15,000 kg
• Thrust/weight ratio: 5 N/kg
• Armament: 20 mm JM61A1 cannon, plus maximum weapon load of 8085 kg:
  • AAMs: AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-7 Sparrow, Mitsubishi AAM-3
  • air-to-ground weapons include: ASM-1 and ASM-2 anti-ship missiles, various free-fall bombs with CGS-1 IIR seeker heads
• Cost: earlier version of F-16 is USD 25 m, an F-2 is probably about USD 100 m (However the UAE paid 8 billion US-Dollar for 80 F-16 Block 60, so if all cost are combined the F-2 and the latest version of the F-16 are not that far away.)
• First flew: 1995
• In service date: 2001

See also

• Comparison of 2000s fighter aircraft