Japan may devp fighters after US rebuff: Kyodo

Tokyo, Aug 29: Japan's Defence Ministry is seeking a budget to develop its own fighter jets, a report said on Wednesday, after the US blocked foreign sales of Washington's most advanced stealth fighter for security reasons.

Tokyo is planning to update its ageing fleet, and had been eyeing the state-of-the-art F-22, also known as the Raptor, as a desirable replacement.

In the face of US resistance to exports, the ministry will seek 15.7 billion yen (138 million dollars) for research and development into the possibility of building fighter jets in Japan, as part of a total budget request of 4,817.2 billion yen for fiscal 2008, Kyodo news agency said.

The ministry has also said it is considering European-made rivals to the F-22, which is made by Lockheed Martin and Boeing and carries a 136 million dollars price tag.

The Eurofighter Typhoon is built by a consortium headed by BAE Systems, Europe's largest defence firm.

Japan's military, whose activities are strictly curtailed by the country's pacifist constitution, has vowed to improve security after coming under fire for information leaks in recent months.

Yesterday, civilian and military police searched the homes and workplaces of Japanese navy officers in a long-running enquiry after classified data on the Aegis radar system was leaked earlier in the year.

The Aegis battle system is used by both US and Japanese missile defence ships.

Reuters
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