Mitsubishi T-2

Common card · No. 286407

The Mitsubishi T-2 was a supersonic jet trainer aircraft designed and produced by the Japanese aerospace firm Mitsubishi. It was the first Japanese-developed aircraft to break the sound barrier. During the 1960s, it became apparent that the Fuji T-1, Japan's first quantity-production jet aircraft, was not ideal for training pilots to operate the increasingly complex supersonic aircraft being operated by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). Accordingly, options for a new trainer that could also be potentially developed into a strike fighter were explored under the T-X initiative. Both the Northrop T-38 Talon and SEPECAT Jaguar were examined to fulfil this role, with negotiations for held with the Anglo/French consortium SEPECAT on licence-producing the Jaguar reportedly conducted, but Japan instead opted for its own design. Mitsubishi's proposal was selected in September 1967. While independently designed, the T-2 bore a resemblance to the Jaguar, and both aircraft were powered by licence...

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