JSF Nieuws.nl » Japan: traditional F-35 stealth will be obsolete within 10 years
The Japanese newsagency NHK News report that Japan will invest in the development of radartechnology for detecting stealth aircraft.
Perfect stealth detection in 2020
The Japan Defense Ministry has reservered a budget of US$40 for the first step in 2013 to support the hightech Japanese industry to develop radar which will be capable of detecting and tracking stealth aircraft. Sources within the Japanse R&D Defence Institute said that the new radar would detect an enemy stealth fighter at a distance by emitting high-powered radar waves in a focused way. In addition, a new system will be developed to share positional information of the stealth fighter with a central control system to intercept it. The central system can be integrated with fighter-aircraft, ship airdefense and ground-based airdefense missile batteries by datalink technology. In this way each battlefield unit (aircraft, vehicle, ship) may share the data from these new type of radars. New high tech radar systems will be supplemented by other detection sensors (like infrared) in one integrated system.
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Conclusion
These new detection systems could reverse a 30-year trend that has seen the U.S. Air Force gain an increasing advantage over enemy defenses. The long development time makes the F-35 obsolete when entering operational servies in 2020. It is an old concept, based on ideas of the nineties of the 20th century. The limitations of the stealth design will limit it operational lifetime and it will be impossible to use it as long (30 years) as the F-16. No any F-117 stealth fighter is still in use, after only 17 years of service……….