In 1985, the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) began searching for a replacement for its fleet of older Mitsubishi F-1 fighter jets. Initially, Japan intended to develop its new aircraft without foreign assistance but later agreed to let the United States participate in their program after the United States raised concerns about the program producing a potentially inferior aircraft if Japan continued the project alone. The joint effort was later designated as the FS-X program, and General Dynamics and Mitsubishi signed an agreement to begin work in 1988, with the design of the aircraft being based on the F-16C Block 40. After seven years, the first aircraft from the FS-X program had its maiden flight, and the aircraft series was christened as the Mitsubishi F-2, which is also known as the “Viper Zero”.

The F-2A was introduced in Update “Leviathans”. Since it has larger wings than the regular F-16, the F-2A has superior turning performance and energy retention but a slightly worse top speed. The F-2A is equipped with the J/APG-2 AESA radar set, which has an excellent scanning rate; it can also identify all modern jets with its NCTR feature. To combat air targets, the F-2A can carry up to eight air-to-air missiles (4x AAM-3s and 4x AAM-4/AIM-7M). The F-2A also has an extensive ground ordnance suite, which consists of rockets, dumb bombs, anti-ship missiles, and different sizes of regular and extended range JDAMs. The F-2A’s main disadvantage is that it does not have a head-mounted device, which hampers the pilot’s off-boresight combat capabilities.