There would still be a jump because the line where the F-15Js are is the “American design line” starting from the sabres to F-15JM and next would be F-35A/B.
DMU26 would likely be after the F-2s the “domestic line”
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I hope they consider it seriously.
While there’s a good choice of late gen 4.5 now, arguably only slightly behind the big 3 (USA, USSR/Russia, Germany China) in options, comparable to UK, 5th gen outside of those main three nations in general will be a bit stale.
Besides it even has more detailed available information than you get for many other 5th gens considering how classified those are, so it wouldn’t be very outlandish here either.
To be fair KF-21 will still be in the Korean tree as well, potentially even a better Block 3 compared to the Block 2s Indonesia is trying to buy. But yeah this might be the most unique almost-5th gen especially since Indonesia actually had a share in the development.
KAAN is still far out being planned for the 2030s, and only if Indonesia actually sticks to the plan of buying it until then. At that point it will also likely have been in the “guessed” Turkey subtree while the game has moved to 6th gen top tier. Once it’s added it’s nice variety to
2026 guesses
So 26DMU still is very unique in what it does. It’s an actual 5th gen, one of the only three the tree could have for at least another 5 years even if Indonesia ends up buying KAAN, it’s fully unique to the techtree drawing player interest (money) and it represents Japan as a nation that actually built and flew a domestic stealth aircraft, even if it was a demonstrator and not the F-X itself.
But they also keep insisting on things needing to fly, so it depends. Technically the X-2 flew as a prototype for the project, but it wasn’t the 26DMU airframe or even combat capable at all.
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I hope Boeing delivers F-15JSI before the game dies, then there could be something between the J(M) and F-35
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Honestly yeah I guess if I think about it besides KAAN Japan tree does not have a gen 5 air superiority fighter and in my eyes I think F-35s will not be good for arb. Stealth would be good but they have no super cruise and very limited air to air payload not even TVC nozzles. It will depend how good they model stealth and its other electronic systems.
But out of all nations (in war thunder) Japan is really the only one to have gotten close to something like Raptors and felons and J-20s.
And as you mentioned KAAN is a big if and far away. I’m also curious if KF-21 would even be added until Indonesia physically has them or since they technically helped with development if they will add them anyway.
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Its only a matter of when. If china can get an oplot from pakistan trying something, then Indonesia can get a KF21 from buying it. There’s no reason for Gaijin to wait for a country. And I highly suspect Indonesian Rafale hasn’t been added because they want to add Rafale F4 for France before. Indoensia released the official camo for their rafale so there good to go there.
Also to add onto that that KF-21 will be in a 4.5 gen config with limited LO capabilities until at least the mid 2030s. KAAN is the same being around 10 years away until it’s in a completed state. At that point the GCAP FTB for UK/JP/IT would be a viable candidate sooner than the KF-21 Block 3 or KAAN. 26DMU should come just for the sole fact that it will slightly disrupt the future F-35 vs F-35 matches with a handful of other air frames sprinkled in. So far the current state of 5th gens outside of F-35 variants will look like this
US
F-22, YF-23, X-32
RU
T-50, Su-57, Su-75
CN
J-20, J-20A, J-20B, FC-31, J-35
3 nations would have some unique airframe besides the F-35 and at least some of those like the X-32 or YF-23 are likely to end up as events. Just adding any form of variety into Rank X would go a long way and really the only way we are going to get it is with the 26DMU. The next two closest nations would be the UK with the Replica or GER with the MAKO/HEAT, but both of those were just full scale mockups with almost nothing actually unique to the programs completed, so basically never coming under current rules.
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Yeah, that’s generally as far as more nations go unless we introduce Turkey that might get a KAAN prototype because they flew it already.
For others I could think of there’s mainly options for nations that already have them, like YF-22 and J-35A.
Potentially also more unfinished vehicles for them like the intended production F-23 and F-32, but I’m not sure if eother of them went past mockups and the YF-23/X-32 will probably be counted as distinct demonstrators rather than unfinished versions of the intended production aircraft.
I’d still want to see them if they were more than mockups, even if it’s the same few nations benefitting again. It’s still some interesting unique aircraft.