Japan is pitching its Kawasaki C-2 twin-turbofan engine military transport aircraft to Middle Eastern customers, paying particular attention to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Japanese Ministry of Defense displayed the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) C-2 at the Dubai Airshow 2021, held from 14 to 18 November, and is in advanced talks with the UAE that are coming to fruition. Japan is considering possibilities to co-operate with countries in the Middle East, and the governments of Japan and the UAE continue to discuss what kind of co-operation would be possible between the two countries.
The Kawasaki C-2 (previously XC-2 and C-X) is a mid-size, twin-turbofan engine, long range, high speed military transport aircraft developed and manufactured by Kawasaki Aerospace Company. In June 2016, the C-2 formally entered service with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.There are ongoing efforts to sell it overseas to countries such as New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates. The aircraft is to supplant and replace the older Kawasaki C-1 turbofan transport that has been in service since the 1970s.
The Kawasaki C-2 is a long range twin-engine transport aircraft. In comparison with the older C-1 that it replaces, the C-2 can carry payloads up to four times heavier, such as MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries and Mitsubishi H-60 helicopters, and possesses six times the range. Conventional cargo aircraft cannot cruise at optimum altitude on commercial airroutes because of their lower cruising speed and are often assigned to lower altitude by ATC.), in-flight aerial refuelling and forward looking infrared systems.
The C-2 is powered by a pair of General Electric CF6-80C2K turbofan engines. While sharing fuselage components with the Kawasaki P-1, the fuselage of the C-2’s is substantially larger to accommodate a vast internal cargo deck, which is furnished with an automated loading/unloading system to reduce workloads on personnel and ground equipment. The forward fuselage and horizontal stabilizer is made of an internally-designed composite material, KMS6115. A tactical flight management system and head-up display is installed to reduce the challenges involved in flying at low altitudes or close to mountainous terrain.
