Japan Considering Replacing F-2s With Uncrewed Fighter Jets Written 13 October 2020

The Japan Times reports that Japanese government officials said that the “introduction of unmanned fighter jets has been considered to succeed the Air Self-Defense Force’s aging F-2s, which are expected to start being retired within two decades.” The “proposal was made earlier this year,” but officials said that the “Defense Ministry [discussions] were...suspended in the wake of the government’s decision in June to scrap its plan to deploy the U.S. developed Aegis Ashore land-based defense system.” The Defense Ministry “estimates that at least ¥1.2 trillion is needed to develop a manned fighter jet, while a drone – which has no space for a pilot and requires no safety equipment – costs much less to build.” The “price of the U.S. Air Force’s MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle is believed to be around ¥1.5 billion, about one-tenth that of the F-22 stealth fighter.”
Full Story (Japan Times)