Japan Ready To Upgrade F-15J Fighter To 'Super Interceptor' Variant With Several New Systems

Japan F-15J Fighter at Misawa Air Base

Tokyo - Japan's F-15J will be upgraded to the "Super Interceptor" variant. In fact, Japan has awarded a contract to Boeing to integrate several major systems on the aircraft.

Not only that, Japan will also spend US$ 470 million for this project. This is done to ensure that the capabilities of his F-15J aircraft are comparable to the F-35 Lightning II that will be owned.

Quoted from Defense Security Asia, the work on upgrading the Japanese F-15J aircraft to a more capable variant will be carried out at Boeing's facilities in St. Louis, United States and is expected to be completed in 2028.

According to a Boeing Company Spokesperson, the Japanese Air Force's F-15 Super Interceptor will enhance the overall capabilities of developing country Air Forces in dealing with today's security challenges.

Japan's own F-15J aircraft are made under license by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. In 2019, Japan and the United States agreed to upgrade 98 Japanese F-15 aircraft for $4.5 billion.

Quoted from The Defense News, the upgrades include improved radar, electronic warfare, weapons-carrying capacity, and stand-off weapons capabilities. It said the aircraft would also be integrated with the Lockheed Martin AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile or JASSM.

Earlier, Japanese media reported that another weapon made by the contractor, the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile or LRASM, was excluded from the upgrade program. This is due to the problem of cost.

For information, LRASM which is a Precision Guided Munitions (PGM) is equipped with explosives weighing 450 kg. It is also capable of hitting targets as far as 500 km to 1,000 km, depending on the variant.