Japan had considered making F-X an unmanned fighter
According to Kyodo News, the Japan Ministry of Defense had considered making the F-X fighter an umanned aircraft.
Graphic: Japan Ministry of Defense
This was to save cost as having an umanned aircaft will result in a smaller aircraft without the need to have a human control it.
However, the approach was abandoned after the Aegis Ashore program was shelved as the Ministry needs to concentrate on finding a new solution to replace the Aegis Ashore program.
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