(Tokyo) Spurned by the refusal of the US to sell them their F-22 (pure) stealth fighter (which would have resulted in a much cheaper price for the US Airforce), in 2007 they bit the bullet and went the whole hog in which to develop their own. Handing the project over to Mitsubishi, they started with a plan of action to build a plane smaller than all the other stealth fighters (as was the Zero in its time). Well, 7 years down the line and the Mitsubishi ATD-X is planned to take to the air for the first time later on this year.
With the proliferation of so many stealth fighters, it appears that Obama made a huge mistake in not selling the F-22 (195 built) to the Japanese.
