New jet trainer in the cards as Japan seeks training fleet refresh
Japan’s search for a new trainer aircraft has meant that companies were keen to display their trainer aircraft solutions at DSEI Japan.
A Japan Air Self-Defense Force Kawasaki T-4 trainer lands at Iruma Air Base, Western Tokyo (Credit: Mike Yeo)
DSEI JAPAN — The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) is in the process of recapitalizing its training aircraft fleet as it seeks to produce pilots for next generation combat aircraft.
JASDF announced earlier this year that it selected the Textron T-6 turboprop trainer, and is starting a search for a jet trainer to replace its existing training fleet.
According to industry executives here at the DSEI Japan expo in Tokyo, Japan is undertaking a survey to look at the aircraft types and training solutions in the market.
This likely includes the joint development of a new trainer aircraft with the US, announced during the US-Japan leaders’ summit in April 2024 to replace the JASDF’s Kawasaki T-4 jet trainers.
Japan’s search for a new trainer aircraft has meant that companies were keen to display their trainer aircraft solutions at DSEI Japan, with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) displaying a scale model of its T-X jet trainer concept.
Meanwhile, Boeing is poised to offer the T-7A Red Hawk trainer for any potential Japanese requirement, with Executive Director for Defense and Government Services in East Asia John Suding noting that the type that has been selected for the US Air Force’s own trainer program would be ideal for a US-Japan joint development.
“The training that it [the T-7] will do for the United States Air Force is very similar to the training that Japan does for their air force, and particularly for their fighter fleet with F-35s and F-15s that are being upgraded, so there’s a lot of commonality within the training system,” Suding said.
Italy’s Leonardo also had a presence at DSEI Japan, showing off a cockpit simulator for its M-346 Block 20 at its stand. The JASDF currently sends its pilots on the M-346 at the International Flight Training School (IFTS) in Italy, which focuses on Phase IV Advanced/Lead-in Fighter Training (LIFT) for pilots from several countries including Qatar and Singapore.
The IFTS is a project between the Italian Air Force and Leonardo, and a company spokesperson told Breaking Defense that nine JASDF pilots have already undergone training at the center since Japan started sending pilots over in 2022.
The pilots’ stint at the IFTS lasts approximately six months, and the spokesperson says that the aim is to increase the number to ten pilots per year.
Another company involved in IFTS is CAE, which has an industrial partnership with Leonardo related to aircraft and simulators. CAE has also demonstrated its Virtual Reality-based training capabilities to the JASDF in 2023, putting 30 pilot training cadets at Hofu-kita Air Base where the JASDF conducts basic flying training on the Subaru T-7 turboprop trainer.
CAE’s Principal Technology Officer Gary Eves told Breaking Defense that the results of the demonstration left the JASDF impressed, and the company is continuing to engage with the service as it continues to find a path forward for its future training needs.
This includes an integrated ground-based virtual training that is not dependent on whichever type of trainer aircraft the JASDF selects for its future training program.
“We will work with JASDF’s choice of aircraft. We are not aligned to anyone and can work with all of them and we will guide them through this process,” Eves said.
