Boeing, Lockheed Martin In Race For Japanese $40 Billion F-3 Fighter Jet Program

US Boeing and Lockheed Martin will compete in Japan’s next generation fighter aircraft program worth $40 billion.

Japanese defense ministry last week issued a request for information on three alternatives: creating a new fighter type, modifying an existing one or importing a new one to replace its aging Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI) F-2 fleet.

U.S. firms Boeing and Lockheed Martin Corp have been invited to take part in the project, dubbed the F-3 fighter jet program, alongside Japan's MHI, the prime domestic contractor, Reuters reported Friday citing sources familiar with the project.

The new home-grown aircraft will operate alongside Lockheed F-35 fighters that Japan has on order, as well as Boeing F-15Js jets that it is upgrading. A spokeswoman for MHI said the company doesn't comment on individual projects, Reuters reported.

There are strong reasons to suspect that the ministry would only be satisfied with a new type, since no fighter now in production comes close to concept designs of the past few years that likely show what it really wants: a large, twin-engine aircraft with long endurance and internal carriage of six big air-to-air missiles.

That does not necessarily mean foreign companies will be wasting their time by responding, however. Even a domestic program led by MHI and engine builder IHI Corp., if affordable, would benefit from foreign guidance and technology.

For new designs, the ministry’s acquisition, technology and logistics agency has requested information on respondents’ capabilities and latest technology. For upgrades and straight imports, it wants to know about the current aircraft. In seeking the data, it is not using the conventional term “request for information,” but that is clearly what the exercise amounts to. Responses are due by July 5.