First Airborne Mine Counter Measures MCH-101 Deliverded To The Japan Maritime Self Defense Force

AgustaWestland and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) announced the delivery of the first Airborne Mine Counter Measures (AMCM) equipped MCH-101 helicopter to the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force. The KHI MCH-101, is equipped with the Northrop Grumman AN/AQS-24A airborne mine hunting system and the Northrop Grumman AN/AES-1 Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS). Together these systems provide a complete surface-to-bottom mine detection capability. .
The development of the AMCM variant of the AW101/MCH-101 has been led by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, as prime contractor, with AgustaWestland providing technical support.
Following the handover ceremony at Kawasaki’s factory on 27th February, the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force aircraft was delivered to Iwakuni where it will perform evaluation trials with the 51st Experimental Squadron before entering operational service in 2016.
The first AMCM configured is the eighth of 13 AW101s that Kawasaki Heavy Industries is building under licence from AgustaWestland for the Japan Maritime Defense Force. The eight aircraft delivered to date comprise six MCH-101s and two CH-101s. The CH-101s are used to support Japan’s Antarctic research activities.
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