-Caveat Lector-

Report: Japan to develop advanced military aircraft
The Associated Press
12/30/00 9:02 AM
TOKYO (AP) -- Japan plans to independently develop a range of advanced
military aircraft over a 10-year period beginning next year, a news report
said Saturday.

Opposition to the plan could come from the United States, which in the past
has called on Tokyo to purchase U.S. fighter planes.

The Defense Agency will invest about $3 billion to develop an advanced
anti-submarine patrol plane called the PX, Kyodo News agency said.

The plane would replace the current P-3C planes developed by the United
States, Kyodo said, citing government sources. Also, a cargo transport plane
called the CX would replace the C-1 planes Japan already makes.

Defense Agency officials were unavailable for comment late Saturday.

Earlier this month, the Cabinet approved an allocation of $43 billion for
defense spending as part of a five-year plan.

Kyodo said the Security Council of Japan, chaired by Prime Minister Yoshiro
Mori, decided to earmark $46 million for the project to develop the planes.

Japan currently has fleets of 100 P-3Cs and 27 C-1s, the report said.

It will likely take three years to design and seven years to produce the
prototypes of the new anti-submarine and cargo transport planes, and the
Defense Agency aims to deploy the first planes on the 10th year from the
start of the project in April, Kyodo said.

Japan's neighbors remain wary of moves regarding its military.

Since the end of World War II, Tokyo's defense posture has been limited
because of suspicion from China and other Asian countries invaded by Japan
during the war, and by the country's postwar "peace" constitution that
restricts its military to self-defense.

Japan had considered domestic production of an advanced support fighter, the
FSX, in 1985 to replace aging F-1 fighters. But it later agreed with the
United States in 1988 to replace the F-1 fighters with aircraft that
modified the U.S.-made F-16 fighters.


Copyright 2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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