Il Technical Research and Development Institute of the Japanese Ministry of Defense announced that the Advanced Technology Demonstrator-X (ATD-X), the new technological demonstrator used to develop the next F-3 fifth-generation fighter, will fly by next February. The name chosen for the technological demonstrator is "Shinshin", Spirit of the Heart.
Japan plans to begin production of the F-3 program in the 2027. This last date, however, may not be respected considering the delays up to now accumulated with the ATD-X prototype.
It should be noted that the F-3 program was created in response to the US refusal to sell the F-22 Raptor technology to Japan. The official rejection by the American Congress goes back to the 2007. During this time, Tokyo has "folded" on Joint Strike Fighter with the acquisition, made official in 2011, of 42 F-35A. The Japanese F-35 were defined as a "temporary solution" pending the production of the country's first fifth-generation native fighter.
The technological demonstrator will have to demonstrate the effectiveness of Japanese technologies developed for the future fifth-generation series fighter. Some of the technologies developed by Technical Research and Development Institute, concern the three-dimensional vector thrust, for a system similar to that used on the Rockwell X-31. These mobile surfaces have already shown to invalidate the low observability profile of the prototype. Among the features implemented, a "fly-by-optics" flight control system, immune to electromagnetic countermeasures and allowing greater transmission speed.
In addition to the electronic scan radar and ECM and ESM capabilities, the Shinshin possesses the "self-repairing ability". According to the Technical Research and Development Institute, "the prototype automatically detects failures or damage on the control surfaces and calibrates those that are functional to keep the flight under control".
