How Many Fighter Jets Does Japan Produce Annually?

Summary Japan plans to double defense spending by 2027 due to increased security threats in the region. Mitsubishi built F-15 Eagles and F-16 Fighting Falcons under license and currently building F-35A under license. Japan is increasing investment in its air force, being the largest F-35 export customer and working on the GCAP Tempest fighter.

While Japan seems only to be actively producing limited quantities of F-35As , it boasts a developed military aviation sector . Japan's defense sector has long only received a small percentage of GDP in funding, as it is the world's third-largest economy that is changing (and is planning to double defense spending by 2027). The emergence of great power competition with China has seen Japan start to invest more in its military (while the US is deploying more advanced F-35As, F-35Cs, and F-15EXs to Japan ).

Previous fighter jets produced under license The backbone of the Japanese combat air force is the F-15 Eagle (Japan is the largest foreign customer of the F-15). These were manufactured under license by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. as the primary contractor (with some modifications).

Some 213 F-15J and F-15DJs were built (the F-15DJ is the conversion trainer variant). The first F-15 was produced by Mitsubishi in 1981. The Mitsubishi F-2 is a licensed copy of the F-16 Fighting Falcon.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. is the primary contractor, and Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., and SUBARU Cor.