TOKYO, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Japan may start development in fiscal 2020 of new fighter jets to succeed the Air Self-Defense Force's (ASDF) fleet of F-2s, local media quoted government sources as saying on Wednesday.
The starting costs for development of the new program, to be outlined by Japan's Defense Ministry, will likely be finalized before the Cabinet endorses a fiscal 2020 draft budget by the end of this year, the sources said.
The replacement fighters may be co-developed by Japan and U.S. or British firms, with a hybrid version of the U.S. military's F-22 and F-35 fifth-generation multirole steal fighter jets being one proposition, according to the sources.
The Defense Ministry here has said that under its latest five-year Medium Term Defense Program, a development project led by Japan with the possibility of bringing onboard international collaborators will be launched at an early juncture.
