Japan looks to sell military aircraft to Middle East in first major overseas arms contract
JAPAN'S air force said today it will send its new C-2 long-range heavy lift military cargo plane overseas for the first time to show it off to potential buyers in the Middle East and New Zealand.
The C-2 aeroplanes will be flown to the UAE to take part in the Dubai Airshow
Built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, the C-2 will fly to the United Arab Emirates on November 8 to participate in the Dubai Airshow and will be on display in New Zealand from Nov. 25 to Dec. 1, the Japan Air Self Defence Force said in a news release.
A C-2 sale would secure Japan its first major overseas arms contract.
“A number of nations have shown interest in the C-2 and we want to show off our advanced technology,” Japan's Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told a regular media briefing.
Sales of the C-2 aeroplanes would represent Japan's first major overseas arms contract
A number of nations have shown interest in the C-2 and we want to show off our advanced technology
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifted a decades-old ban on arms exports in 2014 in a bid to lower procurement costs by widening production bases and use military-industrial collaboration to bolster diplomatic ties.
The C-2 represents a major logistical upgrade on Japan's older C-1 transports. It can lift nearly four times as much and fly six times as far, enough range to reach Afghanistan from Tokyo.
Development of the C-2 had been delayed for several years while engineers struggled with defects that forced them to redesign sections of the aircraft, including the rear cargo door.