>>20561

  >>20561
Ooo, I like that thrust vectoring, though I'm disappointed it doesn't transform into a mech.

  More thrust vectoring.

I think it looks cool. Kind of reminds me if the F-20 had sex with an F-22.

It does seem to have a very small internal storage capacity. Are they planning on using external stores too?

>>20565
I doubt it'll have anything other than external stores. Due to it's size and weight I'd bet it's going to be almost entirely a tech demonstrator/research aircraft.

>>20565
Well, like the OPERATOR mentioned in >>20314 not all countries need to wage war on the world like Team America does.

But yeah, seems kinda small compared to what we're used to.

Japanese territorial waters, for reference.

>Also it just seems so small in comparison to most twin engine fighters or even the F-35.

I think this is just a prototype/tech demonstrator and the final production model may be bigger and will almost certainly look somewhat different. I remember reading that the bubble canopy on that prototype is just a spare one taken from a Kawasaki trainer jet.

>>20570
>I think this is just a prototype/tech demonstrator

You hit the nail on the head. All the X-2 Shinshin is, is a tech demonstrator. It will never be mass produced.

Something to compete with the Chinese fighters?

Chinese Shenyang J-31 (or "FC-31 fifth Generation Multi-Purpose Medium Fighter") also known as the "Gyrfalcon", or "Falcon Hawk" by some military enthusiasts, is a twin-engine, mid-size fifth-generation jet fighter currently under development by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation.
http://www.operatorchan.org/v/res/19925.html#19971

Which appears to be a cheap Chinese knock-off of the US F-22.

Japan just joined an elite club with its latest fighter jet
On Friday, Japan took its domestically designed stealth jet to the skies for the first time, joining the US, Russia, and China as one of the only countries to produce fifth-generation combat aircraft.

Japan's X-2 stealth-fighter prototype is the country's answer to the American-made fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II, Russia's T-50, and China's J-20 and J-31.

The X-2, also called the "Shinshin," which translates to "Spirit of the Heart," has been in development for over a decade, costing Japan a cool $294 million (2.3 billion yen). http://www.businessinsider.com/japans-new-fifth-generation-stealth-jet-2016-1

By unveiling the X-2, Tokyo may be trying to send a clear signal to global powers that it wants its defense industry to be taken seriously, said Jeffrey Hornung, a fellow at the security and foreign-affairs program at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, told FP magazine.

"This may be Japan saying, 'We can do the technology, so consider us for international consortium projects'" such as the one that developed the F-35 stealth fighter, Hornung told FP magazine.

According to Takahiro Yoshida, an official within the Japanese Defense Ministry, the X-2, "has high maneuverability yet with stealth capability," unlike America's most expensive war machine, the F-35 jet, Military.com reports.

>>20574
The J-31 is a clone of the F-35. Lockheed admits to having had design data copied from internal project design servers early on in the F-35 development process after contract awarding. The design of the J-31 is almost completely copy-pasted from the early F-35 work.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_F-35_Lightning_II#Program_cost_overruns_and_delays

>On 21 April 2009, media reports, citing Pentagon sources, said that during 2007 and 2008, spies downloaded several terabytes of data related to the F-35's design and electronics systems, potentially compromising the aircraft and aiding the development of defense systems against it.

Funny how that coincides with the rough timeline needed for development on a prototype plane, such that by 2012, we have the unveiling of the Shenyang J-31.

>>20580
Shinshin is likelier the clone of the pre-JSF, pre X-35 design that LockMart had. When LockMart got to the drawing board their stealth submission didn't have internal bays and was twin engined. Basically a simplified micro F-22 with similar performance. So that seems to fit.

J-31... possibly. J-22 is clearly a MiG-1.44 airframe with the F-35 stealth skin and composite control surfaces, so it seems the Chinese did have some F-35 data. It's not out of the question that they would apply this data to the J-31.

>>20568
>includes all four Kuril Islands
>includes Senkaku islands
Somebody's really asking to get his ass whooped.

>>20568
So stealthy they fly directly above Russian AA.