Mitsubishi T-2

The Mitsubishi T-2 was a twin-engine supersonic jet trainer designed and built by Mitsubishi for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, and the first Japanese-developed aircraft to break the sound barrier. The Fuji T-1 could not prepare pilots for Mach 2 fighters, so Japan chose its own design over licence-building the Jaguar or the T-38, selecting Mitsubishi in September 1967. The first XT-2 prototype flew on 20 July 1971, and the type entered service in 1975. It flew with the Blue Impulse aerobatic team and as an aggressor trainer, and served as conversion trainer for its strike derivative, the F-1. Ninety were built, the last in 1988, and all were withdrawn by 2006.