Japan’s defense ministry has formally launched the F-X advanced fighter competition by issuing the request for proposal and inviting three industry teams to bid. FlightGlobal reports that Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet and Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II platforms are likely to be in the competition as well as possibly the Eurofighter Typhoon. The Japanese issued the solicitation to representatives of the US and British governments; the companies have yet to review it, according to FlightGlobal. The Japanese reportedly have expressed interest in a buy of roughly 40 aircraft, showing an early preference for the F-35 to replace the Japan Air Self Defense Force’s elderly fleet of F-4EJ Phantoms after the United States government barred Japan from purchasing the F-22. As F-X progresses, the Japanese are simultaneously working on an indigenous stealth prototype, known as ATD-X or “Shinshin.”
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
