Japan unveiled first stealth fighter aircraft X-2

Japan on 28 January 2016 unveiled country’s first stealth fighter aircraft X-2. The domestically-built fighter aircraft seeks to augment defence capabilities of the country that is surrounded by China and Russia that already have radar-evading aircraft technology.

X-2 is expected to undergo its first test-flight in February 2016.

Features of X-2

• It has two engines, similar to the F-22 of the USA, and is 46 feet long by 30 feet wide and 15 feet tall.
• Its stealthy features include a special coating on the canopy that houses the pilot, as well as a carbon-fiber composite material that absorbs radar waves.
• It was built under the code name Mitsubishi Advanced Technology Demonstrator-X by the country’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.
• Apart from Mitsubishi, around 200 companies were involved in the development of the unarmed technology demonstrator.
• It was built at a cost of 340 million US dollars and is smaller than a standard jet fighter.

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