The F-X program is an ongoing project of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force to obtain a new aircraft to supplement and eventually replace their aging F-4EJ Phantom II and F-15J aircraft. Candidates to the program include Lockheed Martin's F-22A Raptor and F-35 Lightning II. In 2008, the F-22 was removed from the plan by the Ministry of Defense after the United States banned the export of the aircraft. The F-35, on the other hand, was accepted four years later to complement the ASF-X Shinden II that was then in development.