The core hardware is on par with the US military. Japanese F-15J wants to move towards a "super interceptor"

　　Install the data link, the core hardware is on par with the U.S. military
　　Japanese F-15J will move towards a "super interceptor"

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　　Our reporter Zhang Qiang

　　Boeing recently announced that it will cooperate with Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to upgrade Japan’s current F-15J fighter jets so that they can reach the "Japan Super Interceptor" (JSI) configuration. According to previously disclosed information, a total of 98 Japanese F-15Js participated in this upgrade, and the remaining F-15Js will eventually retire, giving way to the brand-new F-35 fifth-generation fighter.

　　Public information shows that the F-15 series fighter is a fourth-generation heavy fighter. It flew successfully in July 1972. The first mass-produced fighter was delivered in 1974 and has been in service for more than 40 years. It is equipped with two turbofan engines, the maximum flight speed can reach 2.5 Mach, with supersonic flight and high maneuverability combat capability.

　　At the end of the 1970s, Japan imported F-15C fighter jets from the United States. According to the agreement, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries produced subsequent aircraft in the form of a license. This model was determined to be F-15J, and its two-seater trainer model was F-15DJ. In 1981, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force formed the first F-15J combat unit.

　　Wang Qun, a professor at the National University of Defense Technology and an adjunct professor at Hunan Transportation Engineering College, told a reporter from the Science and Technology Daily: "Japan is currently the country with the largest number of F-15s in the world except the United States. Its last batch of F-15Js served in 1988. It has been 32 years now, and it is conceivable that most of them are old."

　　It is said that the total cost of refitting these 98 F-15J fighters is approximately US$4.5 billion (approximately RMB 32 billion). However, this move was criticized by some Japanese netizens. Some netizens said, "It costs an average of 5 billion yen (about 320 million yuan) to refit a plane. If you want to refit 98, you might as well buy 50 new F-15s."

　　In this regard, Wang Qun believes: "The initial price of the F-15 decades ago was about 30 million U.S. dollars, but it is currently undergoing equipment upgrades, including radar, avionics and electronic warfare systems, and multi-function displays. Coupled with factors such as currency depreciation, the current price is undoubtedly much higher than the original price."

　　The reporter noted that the U.S. Air Force’s fiscal 2020 budget of nearly $166 billion announced the purchase of eight new F-15EX two-seater fighters to replace the old F-15C/D models. According to the budget, the cost of each new F-15EX two-seater fighter is as high as 80 million US dollars. If the production line restoration and engineering costs are included, this figure will rise to 125 million US dollars.

　　"Therefore, if the F-15J is newly built, the price will definitely rise sharply. What's more, the content of this upgrade includes active phased array radar, digital electronic warfare system, supporting software and technical service projects, etc. Wang Qun said.

　　Some media pointed out that the upgraded F-15J has basically the same core hardware as the US military's own F-15EX. For example, it has the same active phased array radar and advanced display core processor II mission system computer, which will significantly improve the performance. The air-to-air and air-to-ground detection range and accuracy of the aircraft, as well as multi-target engagement capabilities and pilot situational awareness.

　　"It can be inferred that, except for the non-new airframe, the upgraded F-15J has similar performance to the F-15EX." Wang Qun said, considering that the arms negotiations between Japan and the United States have no pricing power, and if it is built completely A series of costs such as after-sales, training and consulting must be added. Therefore, upgrading 98 F-15Js costs $4.5 billion and is not too expensive.

　　In the future, Japanese F-15J fighter jets will be gradually replaced by F-35. The latest report shows that the United States has agreed to export another 105 F-35s to Japan. By then, the total number of F-35s owned by Japan will reach 147, second only to the United States.

　　So far, more than 10 countries have decided to buy F-35, but according to the current production capacity, even if the United States installs itself, it will take several years. Japan has introduced so many F-35s, and obviously it will not be delivered in a short time. "But the reality is that Japan can't afford to wait. New fighters cannot be fully introduced in a short period of time. Most of the fighters in service are old and serious, and it is difficult to meet the requirements of air combat and maintain the air power balance with neighboring countries. Therefore, Japan chose to upgrade F -15J should be the next best thing." Wang Qun said.

　　Interceptor is a military aircraft specially used to intercept invading enemy fighters, bombers, reconnaissance aircraft, and cruise missiles in the air. One of its important characteristics is high speed. The "Peace Constitution" restricts Japan from developing offensive military forces, so its fighter jets are mainly used to intercept aircraft invading airspace and perform air-to-air operations. The F-15J is used as an air superiority fighter in Japan. It basically has no ground attack capability and is mainly used as an interceptor. The F-35's maximum flight speed is only 1.6 Mach, which is somewhat inadequate for air control and interception. Since the United States does not export F-22 fighters, the only fighter that Japan can rely on for air interception is the F-15J. "So, from this point of view, Japan should also retain high-speed advanced interceptors, that is, upgrade F-15J." Wang Qun believes.

　　The upgraded F-15J will reach the configuration of the "Japan Super Interceptor" (JSI) and will be renamed F-15JSI.

　　According to the report, an imaginary image released at the same time as Boeing’s statement shows an F-15 painted with a Japanese emblem, with a large missile mounted on its central weapon attachment point. This seems to be the AGM-158 joint air-to-ground cruise missile outside the defense zone.

　　"In fact, Japan has always wanted to develop air-to-ground strike capabilities. The AGM-158 is a stealth air-to-surface missile. After being integrated by the F-15J in the future, it will have anti-ship and ground attack functions. This will make the F-15JSI more Functional fighter." Wang Qun pointed out, but the F-15JSI is only a transitional product, and the purpose is to provide a buffer period for the introduction or self-developed new fighters.

　　In the future, F-15JSI will also install Link-16 data link and integrate it into the command and control system of the US military, so as to better cooperate with Japanese F-35 fighters. Wang Qun said that the performance of F-15JSI will be greatly improved compared with F-15J, with stronger target detection and tracking and beyond-horizon combat capabilities, basically reaching the standards of four and a half fighter jets, and better capable of air superiority and interception operations. , And carried out anti-ship and ground attack missions.