Mitsubishi F-1 Fighter Aircraft, Japan

The Mitsubishi F-1 is a single-seat multi-role fighter aircraft
designed and manufactured jointly by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and
Fuji Heavy Industries for the Japan Air Self Defence Force (JASDF). It
was the first indigenous fighter aircraft built post-World War II. A
total of 77 F-1s were built between 1977 and 1987.



The F-1 was retired from service in 2006. It was superseded with F-2A, which is derived from Lockheed Martin's F-16 Fighter Jet.

The exterior design of the F-1 is similar to the Sepecat Jaguar
fighter jet. The aircraft was designed by modifying its forerunner
Mitsubishi T-2 advance trainer jet, which is built based on the Sepecat
Jaguar.



The design was modified to include two wing pylons and a fuselage
pylon, replace the rear cockpit with an avionics bay and an unglazed
access hatch in place of a glass canopy.

In 1972, the JASDF announced its plan to build the strike fighter
model (F-1) from the T-2 trainer jet. The development contract was
awarded in 1973. Two T-2s were acquired by the JASDF to transform them
into F-1 prototypes. The aircraft was developed to supersede the fleet
of F-86 Sabres.



The F-1's maiden flight took place in June 1975 and the aircraft
entered service in April 1978. The JASDAF initially planned to build 160
units; however, budget cuts reduced the numbers to 77. Final delivery
of the F-1 took place in March 1987.



The JASDF launched a service life extension programme (SLEP) in 1990s
to increase the lifespan of an airframe from 3,500 hours to 4,000
hours. As part of the SLEP, 70 F-1s were overhauled between 1991 and
1993 by incorporating a modern fire control system, a robust canopy and
an XGCS homing bomb.

The F-1 aircraft has two drop tanks of 830l capacity, each under its
centreline pylon and wings. A tubular antenna is fitted at the top of
the tail fin and J / AWG-12 radar. It can attack from relatively short
range and can be utilised in interception missions.

The all-digital cockpit is enclosed with a glass canopy to
accommodate one flight crew. It is equipped with head up display (HUD)
and J / ASQ-1 fire control system (FCS) developed by Mitsubishi
Electric.





A radar warning receiver, a J / ASN-1 inertial navigation system, a J
/ APR-3 radar homing warning system, a J / APN-44 radar altimeter
system, a J / A24G-3 air data computer, a strike camera system and
imaging infra-red seeker system form part of the cockpit.

The F-1 is armed with a 20mm JM61A1 Vulcan 6 barrelled Gatling cannon
in the front fuselage section to fire munitions at the rate of 6,000
rounds per minute. The aircraft has seven hardpoints: four under the
wings, one under the centreline pylon station and two wing tip missile
rails. It can carry up to 2,721kg payload.



The aircraft can accommodate Mitsubishi AAM-1 and two AIM-9L
Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, two Mitsubishi ASM-1 anti-ship missiles,
JLAU-3A 70mm rocket pods, RL-7 70mm rockets, RL-4 125mm rockets and
LAU-69 rocket pods.



It can also carry Mk-82 and M117 bombs weighing 226kg and 340kg,
respectively. Other payloads incorporated in the aircraft are
air-to-ground missiles and infra-red guided versions of MK82 and M117.

The F-1 is powered by two Ishikawa-Harima TF40-801A turbofan engines,
each rated at 22.8kN of dry thrust. The thrust afterburner of the
engine is 35.6kN.



Designed and manufactured by IHI Corporation of Japan, the TF40-801A
is a licence-built version of Adour Mk801 which is a variant of the
Turbomeca Adour engine.



The dry weight of the engine is 3,300kg.

The F-1 can climb at a rate of 118m per second. Its maximum speed is
1,700km per hour. The combat radius and ferry range of the aircraft are
556km and 2,870km, respectively. Its service ceiling is 15,240m.