Photo credit: 防衛装備庁（ATLA) and Hunini (Own work) via Wikipedia
By Dario Leone
Sep 3 2017
As reported by the Nikkei,
the United Arab Emirates has approached Japan to buy a unspecified number of
Kawasaki C-2 transport
aircraft.
Both sides have to conclude a treaty regarding the
transfer of defense equipment and technology before the aircraft can be sold to
the UAE.
Noteworthy if the C-2 sale to UAE went through, it
would be the first export of a weapon system built in Japan.
In 2014 in fact the government of Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe discarded the 1967 self-imposed ban on the export
of weapons.
Nevertheless Japan still forbids exports of defense
equipment and technology to countries engaged in conflict, a restrictive
guideline that could be a sticking point in the C-2 export to UAE considering
that the country is part of a Saudi-led coalition that is attacking Yemen.
However a Japanese Defense Ministry official said the
sale can go through since “the UAE is not the one who is leading the
intervention” in Yemen.
The C-2 is a mid-size, twin-turbofan engine, long range,
high speed military
transport aircraft developed and manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
The aircraft, which entered service with the Japan Air Self Defense Force
(JASDF) in June 2016, features a cruising range of 7,600km, nearly twice that
of the Lockheed Martin’s C-130
Hercules, which the JASDF also uses. In addition, the C-2 can carry 20 tons
or so, four times more than the C-130.
The C-2 is wide
enough to carry amphibious and combat vehicles, and can handle
missions to remote islands.
Original post: theaviationgeekclub.com
Kawasaki C-2: Details
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