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Reuters Staff
TOKYO, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Japan’s air force said on Friday
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.
Built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, the C-2 will fly to
the United Arab Emirates on Nov. 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.
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. (Reporting by Nobuhiro Kubo and
Tim Kelly; Editing by Paul Tait)
Original post: reuters.com
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