Latest news with #T-4
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Vendors line up to fill Japan's F-35 pilot training gap
TOKYO — As Japanese defense officials move to upgrade a military training infrastructure hard-pressed to produce F-35 pilots, vendors are proposing new planes to fill a gap. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force, or JASDF, has made small steps to begin turning around what experts have described as an obsolete training ecosystem. Officials have already selected Textron's T-6JP Texan II as its basic trainer to replace the Fuji T-7, and a T-6 procurement contract should be signed before year's end. However, Japan next needs to think clearly about how to replace its Kawasaki T-4 intermediate jet trainers, more than 200 of which entered service from 1988. With the JASDF now flying fifth-generation F-35A/F-35B fighters, the T-4 is deemed unfit for the task of transitioning fighter pilots to such advanced aircraft. Tokyo is currently mulling its options for new advanced jet trainers. It issued a request for information in October 2024, and the submission deadline closed on May 8, 2025. Select domestic and foreign vendors attending DSEI Japan, held in Chiba from May 21-23, were touting their respective products. Boeing was promoting the T-7A Red Hawk, while Leonardo believes the M-346 Block 20 is best suited. Elsewhere, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) is even proffering a clean-sheet T-X design. Responding to a Defense News question about the T-7A at DSEI Japan 2025, John Suding, Boeing's Executive Director for Defense and Government Services in East Asia, said, 'We believe the T-7 would be a fantastic fit.' He continued, 'The training that it will do for the United States Air Force is very similar to the training that Japan does for their air force, and particularly for their fighter fleet, so with F-35s and F-15s being upgraded, there's a lot of commonality there within the training system.' One thing in favor of an American platform being eventually selected was a U.S.-Japan leaders' summit in April 2024. This saw the two countries announce exploration of joint development of a trainer aircraft to replace the T-4 fleet. However, Leonardo believes it has a compelling offering with its M-346 Block 20, a new variant with improved avionics and cockpit display that will be delivered to first customer, Austria, in 2028. The company had a cockpit simulator at DSEI Japan 2025, and Diego Siccardi, responsible for Leonardo's international campaigns in the Far East and Oceania, highlighted several points in the platform's favor. One is that, since 2022, a handful of Japanese fighter pilots have been flying M-346s in advanced fighter training in the commercially run International Flight Training School (IFTS) in Sardinia, Italy. Siccardi said, 'They're really happy about the training level they're getting there,' with plans to expand pilot numbers. Another advantage is Japan's rapidly expanding cooperation with Europe under the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP). Creating synergy, this trilateral project involves Leonardo and Japan. It's a landmark program for Tokyo, given that it traditionally cooperates so closely only with the United States. Thirdly, Siccardi stressed Leonardo's willingness to transfer technology to Japan and work with domestic Japanese partners. 'We're looking to maximize the indigenous content,' he acknowledged. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries displayed a scale model depicting a T-X trainer aircraft at DSEI Japan 2025. With work commencing last year, the project is still in its early stages, so officials could not provide too many clear details. The twin-engine aircraft would feature an advanced cockpit system containing large touchscreens, as well as embedded simulator functions. Officials told Defense News that the T-X could also replace F-2B and F-15DJ trainer variants, which explains why the trainer's size approaches that of an F-2. However, the factor mitigating against the T-X is time. It would take multiple years to develop and be ready for procurement. Therefore, its future entirely depends on the JASDF's schedule for retiring the T-4 and whether Japan's Ministry of Defence wants to pursue a wholly indigenous design. As the JASDF updates its trainer aircraft platforms, there is an opportunity to simultaneously overhaul its training system. CAE is one company keen to help. Marc-Olivier Sabourin, CAE's Division President, Defence & Security International, told Defense News: 'The current Japanese program is relying on assets that are becoming obsolete, so their training throughput is challenged. But also the training proficiency they get with their existing training system still creates a significant gap between the cadet knowledge and F-35 operations.' CAE does not currently hold any JASDF contract for pilot training, but there is growing interest from Japan for an integrated learning environment. This appetite was whetted when CAE ran a study with 30 Japanese pilot cadets around one and a half years ago. That study utilized virtual reality-based simulators to provide independent instruction and coaching. Gary Eves, CAE's principal technology officer, said: 'We completed the study, and we were able to show that within just one hour of AI-based coaching, I could make about a 20% improvement on their grade performance without an instructor.'
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Japan's air force confirms the deaths of 2 crew in a training plane crash
TOKYO (AP) — Japan's air force chief on Thursday confirmed the deaths of two service members whose training aircraft crashed last week. The T-4 plane with two aboard crashed into a reservoir minutes after takeoff from Komaki Air Base in the central Japanese prefecture of Aichi on May 14. Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Gen. Hiroaki Uchikura told reporters Thursday that autopsies showed that the two, aged 29 and 31 years, died two minutes after takeoff. The cause of the crash is under investigation. The air force grounded all remaining 196 of the training planes for emergency inspection. The crash is the latest in a series of defense aircraft accidents in recent years and comes at a time when Japan is accelerating a military buildup to deter China's growing influence in the region. Japan has doubled its defense spending, raising concern that funding for weapons may be prioritized over safety.
The Star
22-05-2025
- General
- The Star
Two Japanese soldiers confirmed killed in training plane crash
The T-4 training aircraft crashed near a lake in central Japan's Aichi region immediately after taking off. - Photo: AFP TOKYO: The Japanese military confirmed on Thursday (May 22) that remains recovered from the crash of a training plane last week were those of two soldiers. The Air Self-Defense Force's T-4 training aircraft crashed near a lake in central Japan's Aichi region immediately after taking off at its Komaki Air Base last week. "The deaths of its two crew members were confirmed today," Hiroaki Uchikura, head of the ASDF, told a news conference. "It is gut-wrenching that we lost these precious lives of our comrades," Uchikura said. A search after the crash soon led to the discovery of what appeared to be remains but officials could not immediately identify them. However, "a subsequent official analysis confirmed, much to our sorrow, that these belong to two soldiers on board that we had been looking for", Uchikura said. He said he "takes the accident seriously" and "will do our best to identify the cause and improve aviation safety". The T-4 seats two and is a "domestically produced, highly reliable and maintainable training aircraft... used for all basic flight courses", according to the defence ministry website. Aerial footage of the lake soon after the crash broadcast by NHK showed an oil slick on its surface dotted with what appeared to be debris. - AFP
Toronto Star
22-05-2025
- General
- Toronto Star
Japan's air force confirms the deaths of 2 crew in a training plane crash
TOKYO (AP) — Japan's air force chief on Thursday confirmed the deaths of two service members whose training aircraft crashed last week. The T-4 plane with two aboard crashed into a reservoir minutes after takeoff from Komaki Air Base in the central Japanese prefecture of Aichi on May 14.
Winnipeg Free Press
22-05-2025
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Japan's air force confirms the deaths of 2 crew in a training plane crash
TOKYO (AP) — Japan's air force chief on Thursday confirmed the deaths of two service members whose training aircraft crashed last week. The T-4 plane with two aboard crashed into a reservoir minutes after takeoff from Komaki Air Base in the central Japanese prefecture of Aichi on May 14. Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Gen. Hiroaki Uchikura told reporters Thursday that autopsies showed that the two, aged 29 and 31 years, died two minutes after takeoff. The cause of the crash is under investigation. The air force grounded all remaining 196 of the training planes for emergency inspection. The crash is the latest in a series of defense aircraft accidents in recent years and comes at a time when Japan is accelerating a military buildup to deter China's growing influence in the region. Japan has doubled its defense spending, raising concern that funding for weapons may be prioritized over safety.
