A test flight of Japan's first homemade stealth aircraft is expected to be held early next year.

Dubbed as the Mitsubishi Advanced Technology Demonstrator - X or (ATD-X), a prototype of the aircraft is set to conduct its maiden flight in January 2015, according to the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper.

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The project has been around since 2007 and development of the aircraft is being led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries along with several other Japanese companies.

The aircraft will be subject to tests for at least two years after its first flight. It is expected that by early 2019 Japan's Ministry of Defense will have to decide if it wants to procure the aircraft.

The ATD-X, also called Shinshin in Japan which means "ones's mind," will have similar equipment and technology to the US-made Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth aircraft, the newspaper added.

Japan has a formal security alliance with the United States and has long been dependent on it for military equipment. The successful development of such an aircraft would help reduce its reliance towards the US.

The government of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been pushing for Japan's military "normalization" as tensions with China over disputed islands in the East China Sea continue.

The Japanese government has scrambled fighter jets 340 times since June due to intrusions of Chinese aircraft and vessels near the disputed islands.

For the past three decades, Japan has been under a self-imposed ban on exporting weapons but the Japanese government lifted the ban last April. It is now allowed to export weapons under certain conditions.

Additionally, Japan also announced last month that it would come to the defense of its allies if they become under attack.

TagsEast China Sea dispute, Mitsubishi ATD-X, stealth fighter