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Southwestern Composite Air Division building :

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Japan to Receive 4 New V-22 Osprey Aircraft
U.S. defense contractor Boeing has been awarded a $545 million contract for the delivery of 4 V-22 aircraft to Japan.

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By Franz-Stefan Gady
July 22, 2016
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On July 19, the U.S. Navy awarded a $545 million contract to Bell-Boeing to manufacture and deliver four V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft to Japan,according to a Pentagon press release. The latest order is part of a $3 billion sale of 17 V-22 Osprey military transport aircraft and associated equipment to the Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF).

In July 2015, the U.S. Navy awarded Bell-Boeing–Bell Helicopters and Boeing formed a business partnership to develop and produce the V-22—the contract to supply the first five V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft to the JSDF via the Pentagon’s foreign military sales program. It was the V-22’s first international sale. Japan first announced its intention to procure the Osprey aircraft in November 2014.

The V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft “is a hybrid between a conventional helicopter and turboprop plane with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capability. It outperforms traditional helicopters in terms of speed and range,” I explained in May 2016 (See: “Meet Japan’s Newest Aircraft for Defending the Senkaku Islands”). The JSDF will receive the V-22B Block C variant, in service with the United States Marine Corps (USMC).

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A number of V-22s will be stationed aboard the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s new 19,5000-ton helicopter carrier Izumo. Japan’s Ministry of Defense also announced its intention to deploy some V-22s in the East China Sea. The purchase of V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft is part of a larger push of the JSDF to improve its amphibious and naval warfare capabilities. As I reported in December 2015 (See: “Japan Approves Record Defense Budget”), next to the four Ospreys, Japan will procure the following military hardware:

The fiscal year 2016/2017 shopping list encompasses 11 units of AAV7 amphibious assault vehicles made by BAE System — Japan is in the process of setting up an Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade by 2017 — 17 Mitsubishi SH-60K anti-submarine warfare helicopters, (…) three Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk drones, six F-35A Lightning II fighter planes, one Kawasaki C-2 military transport aircraft, and 36 new lighter maneuver combat vehicles (MCVs).

A 2015 press release by the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency states:

Japan is modernizing its transport fleet to better support its defense and special mission needs. The proposed sale of V-22B Block C Osprey aircraft will greatly enhance the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s humanitarian and disaster relief capabilities and support amphibious operations. This sale will promote burden sharing with our ally and interoperability with U.S. forces. Japan will have no difficulty absorbing these aircraft into its armed forces.

In the past, there have been repeated concerns over the reliability of the V-22 given that a number of aircraft in service with the USMC in Japan have crashed. The V-22 project has also been beset by a number of controversies right from the onset.
http://thediplomat.com/2016/07/japan-to-receive-4-new-v-22-osprey-aircraft/
 
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Some pics of JASDF C-130 Hercules aircraft visiting CSI Mumbai sometime last year...

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Four photos showing cockpit interior of C-1 transport aircraft during flight :

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Japan to develop drone jets within next two decades; defense ministry seeks massive budget
Shanghai News.Net Saturday 20th August, 2016

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TOKYO, Japan – Japan is aiming to develop a prototype drone fighter jet in a technology strategy focusing on weapons communications and lasers, within the next two decades.

According to reports, the plan, expected to be announced in August by the Defense Ministry, will advocate the initial development of an unmanned surveillance aircraft within the next decade, followed by an unmanned fighter jet 10 years later.

Along with the strategy, the ministry is also expected to reveal its request for a massive budget to the tune of $51 billion (5.16 trillion yen) for the fiscal 2017.

The 2.3 percent rise over this year’s budget comes as the ministry looks to tighten defences as North Korea expands its ballistic missile technology.

However, Takashi Kawakami, a security expert at Japan's Takushoku University, claimed that the budget was still insufficient, and added, “The security environment surrounding Japan is severe, due to neighbouring North Korea and China. I personally think it's not enough.”

Meanwhile, the Sea of Japan is currently seeing China conducting what it touts as “confrontation drills,” as Beijing aims to create a navy capable of force projection greater distances away from its shores.

The state-owned People's Liberation Army Daily said that the drills were conducted in a “certain area of the Sea of Japan,” without revealing the exact location.

The reports came after those of Beijing building a dock for its warships at a site being developed by Japan as a military base, which lies to the west of the disputed Senkaku, also called Diaoyu islands.

The People's Liberation Army Daily added, “Exercises far out at sea in international waters are commonly done by navies of the world, and this year, our navy has many times organised fleets to carry out exercises far out in the Western Pacific.”

They continued, “This deep-sea exercise is part of annual training arrangements, is not aimed at any specific country, region or target, and accords with international law and practice.”

The decision comes as Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, told veteran Japanese politician Takeo Kawamura that China gives great importance to their relations with Japan.

He said that the ties should be promoted and adhered to on the basis of four political documents that take “history as a mirror and look toward the future.”

On Sunday, South Korea, China and Japan’s high-ranking diplomats are to convene in Tokyo to deliberate on whether a trilateral meeting among the foreign ministers of the three countries should be conducted in August as planned.

The trilateral meeting was scheduled to be held on August 22, 23 and 24, but conflict and tensions between China and Japan over the Senkaku Islands have been delaying final confirmations.
 
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Three photos of AAM-1/Type 69 Air-to-Air Missile (the white one in middle row) :

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Large chronological chart showing F-3 fighter, MRJ passenger plane and other aircraft (three images) :

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