February 11 morning, the Japanese Shinshin X-2 advanced technology demonstration machine in Nagoya start prepares for first flight.

Mitsubishi Aircraft  aims to complete aircraft-level ground and engineering tests by late this month.  The demonstration plane Shinshin X-2 is expected to make its maiden flight sometime after mid-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.

The Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin (formerly the ATD-X ) is a Japanese experimental aircraft for testing advanced stealth fighter aircraft technologies. It is being developed by the Japanese Ministry of DefenseTechnical Research and Development Institute (TRDI) for research purposes. The main contractor of the project is Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

Earlier Japan unveiled its first homemade stealth plane ATD-X Shinshin