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Not China Or India, But This Country Will Have The Strongest Air Force In The Whole Of Asia

As India and China display their aerial might, the US continues to operate the world’s strongest air force led by the mighty F-22 Raptors, F-35 jets and an array of other battle-tested aircraft like F-15EX, F-16s, and many more.

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The question is — which nation has or could have the 2nd strongest airforce in the entire world and the most powerful in Asia?

Japan is set to become the second-largest operator of Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters after the US. The country is also developing a sixth-generation fighter plane. With all this, Japan is growing into a formidable air power in Asia, that could surpass both China and India.

Japan is one of the largest military spenders in the Indo-Pacific region and ranks ninth in global military spending ($49.1 billion), according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The country is ranked 5th, just behind India (4) and China (3) in the 2021 Global Firepower ranking that factors in military might, financial and logistical capability as well as geography.

The US has a significant imprint on Japan’s military arsenal since the Japanese defense forces have a security alliance with the Americans under the US-Japan Mutual Security Treaty 1960.

The 2018 National Defense Program Guidelines (NDPG) lay down Japan’s defense policy for the next five years.

Japan’s Air Force

The Japanese Air Force, known as the Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF), came into existence after the 1954 Self-Defenses Forces Act.

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Japan’s first indigenous combat aircraft was the F-1, developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) in the 1970s. The F-2 ‘Viper Zero’ is another homegrown jet, based on the design of the US Lockheed Martin F-16.

A multirole, single-engine jet, the F-2 is armed with short to medium-range air-to-air and anti-ship missiles.

The visible changes to the F-2 design include a 25% increase in wing area, installation of a brake parachute and an adapted fuselage along with an electronic warfare suite developed by Mitsubishi Electric and multi-function displays (MFDs) built by Yokogawa, a Japan-based company.

Mitsubishi also has the license to produce the US F-15 Eagle, an air superiority fighter plane making Japan the only country to build an indigenous version of the American jet — the F-15J.

In addition, less than 50 F-4 Phantom IIs, the iconic Cold War fighter jet used in the Vietnam war, still remain in service, as reported by National Interest.

Japan is in the process of acquiring a record number of the fifth-generation stealth F-35 jets, one of the most advanced jets in the world, to replace its aging fleet of F-4.

Last July, Washington approved the whopping purchase of 105 F-35 joint striker fighters, including a combination of F-35A and F-35B.

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