Japan Abandons Plans to Upgrade F-15 Fighter Jets as Cost Rises Dramatically, Media Says
Sputnik International
https://sputniknews.com/asia/202012121081438021-japan-abandons-plans-to-upgrade-f-15-fighter-jets-as-cost-rises-dramatically-media-says/
In October, Boeing and Mitsubishi signed an agreement to modernise Japan’s F-15 aircraft so they could carry long-range cruise missiles. The reason why Tokyo decided to upgrade the aircraft was China s intensifying air patrols over the disputed Senkaku Islands, which have been a big issue for the two nations.
The Japanese government has decided to drop plans to upgrade its US-made F-15 fighter jets and exclude the expenses for modernising the aircraft from the fiscal 2021 budget, Kyodo News agency quoted sources as saying on Friday.