The first domestically-made stealth aircraft  ATD-X Shinshin X-2, sits in a hangar at Nagoya Airport in Toyoyama town, central Japan, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016.

The demonstration plane is expected to make its maiden flight sometime after mid-February.

The experimental X-2 is expected to make its maiden test flight in February. Defense officials said the aircraft is designed to test the stealth technology that would possibly be combined with the next-generation fighter jet, replacing the fleet of F-2 fighters as early as 2028.

A Defense Ministry official said the technology will give Japan the option of developing its own stealth fighter jets in the future.

(AP Photo/Emily Wang)