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The Japan Defense Agency took possession of the first production F-2 support fighter in delivery ceremonies last September at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Komaki South Plant near Nagoya, Japan. The F-2 was co-developed and is now co-produced by Lockheed Martin and MHI, the prime contractor. The design is based on the F-16, but with larger wings and aft fuselage to accommodate JDA’s requirement for a longer-range aircraft.
A significant hallmark of the F-2 program is the technology transfer agreement in which the US government agreed to allow Lockheed Martin to license certain F-16 data to MHI and the Japan government agreed to transfer certain state-of-the-art F-2 technology to the US, including valuable cocured composite wingbox technology. The wingboxes, approximately twenty-five percent larger than those of the F-16, are made from a Japanese-developed graphite composite process that results in significant weight savings.
The program is also distinguished by its workshare agreement in which Lockheed Martin Aeronautics develops and manufactures the aft fuselage and the wing leading edge flaps at Fort Worth; Lockheed Martin Sanders develops and manufactures the stores management system; and Sanders and Lockheed Martin Information Systems develop and manufacture portions of each set of avionics support equipment. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics is also responsible for manufacturing eighty percent of the left-hand wing boxes, the major portion of the wing, and other ground and on-board equipment. The components are assembled by MHI in Nagoya.
The Japan Air Self-Defense Force deployed the first F-2 to Misawa AB in northern Japan last October after a sixty-five minute flight from the MHI Nagoya plant. After MHI delivers eighteen additional aircraft to JDA in March 2001, the first full F-2 squadron will activate at Misawa. The JDA plans to procure 130 F-2 aircraft over the life of the program. The F-2 will succeed Japan’s aging F-1 fighters and provide support for the 200 US-built F-15 fighters also in the JASDF inventory.
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