Japan Pitches P-1 for France and Germany maritime patrol aircraft requirement

Japan is offering its Kawasaki P-1 maritime patrol aircraft for a Franco-German requirement for a new aircraft. The move is part of the island nation’s efforts to secure its first major arms sale since a self-imposed ban on arms exports following World War II was lifted four years ago.
Two P-1s are currently in Berlin, Germany, participating in the ILA 2018 air show, with Reuters, citing Japanese government sources, reporting that Japan has asked P-1 manufacturer Kawasaki Heavy Industries, or KHI, to explore possible partnerships with France’s Dassault Aviation and Thales.
France and Germany are in the preliminary stages of a program to find a “European solution” to replace their respective anti-submarine maritime patrol aircraft. Their defense ministers are due to sign a letter of intent to formalize the plan at the air show, and a road map for the program is expected by June.
France wants to replace its Breguet Atlantique turboprop anti-submarine aircraft, and Germany is looking for a new platform to take over from the Lockheed Martin P-3C Orion it currently operates.
KHI will almost certainly face competition from Airbus for the Franco-German program. The European aerospace giant recently launched a military variant for its popular A320neo civil airliner, which it says can be customized for a wide variety of roles and missions depending on customer requirements.
Other potential contenders for the program include Boeing’s P-8A Poseidon multimission aircraft and possibly Saab’s Swordfish.
defensenews

Japan in talks with New Zealand for C-2 P-1 aircraft

Japan is in negotiations with New Zealand to export the Self-Defense Forces' patrol and transport aircraft, in hopes of beating out U.S. and European competition to score its first large-scale arms contract.
The deal will also involve the maintenance of the planes, and is potentially worth billions of dollars. Tokyo in September provided unclassified information on the P-1 maritime patrol plane and C-2 transporter, both developed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, in response to Wellington's requests.
Representatives from Japan's defense ministry and Kawasaki Heavy are in New Zealand for negotiations. Japan could come up with a proposal in the first half of 2017 concerning the price, production process and maintenance of the planes. It will also consider jointly producing certain parts with New Zealand.
New Zealand will choose the winning bid as early as this summer out of a pool including American and European proposals. The Japanese government will also negotiate a treaty with New Zealand to allow the transfer of defense equipment and technology, a prerequisite to the potential deal.
The P-1, deployed by the Maritime SDF, was designed as a successor to the mainstay P-3C patrol aircraft. It can pick up even faint submarine signals through underwater sensors, and is also known to be fuel efficient and extremely quiet.
The bidding "will be a one-on-one fight with Boeing's P-8 patrol plane," a Japanese official said.
The C-2, meanwhile, can carry heavy loads over long distances. It was first delivered to the Air SDF in June 2016, with plans for deployment this March. The aircraft shares the same parts in the wing and other areas with the P-1, which will allow New Zealand to save money if it adopts both models. Airbus and several other companies are considered Japan's main rivals for the transporters.
The Japanese government adopted three principles on the transfer of defense equipment and technology in April 2014, greatly relaxing the requirements for arms exports. But it has done little under the new rules. Japan was outbid by France on Australia's new fleet of submarines in April, and lost a bid on anti-submarine patrol aircraft for the U.K. to the U.S. in November 2015.
nikkei

UK interested in Japan's P-1 As Submarine Hunter

The British have shown interest in the P-1 Maritime Patrol Aircraft in a potential $1 billion deal to replace the Nimrod as Britain’s submarine hunter.
Britain signaled their interest after Japanese Prime Minister decided to reverse previous self-imposed Japanese defense export restrictions and allowed domestic manufacturers like Kawasaki to find foreign partners.
Kawasaki developed the P-1 as a replacement for the P-3C for the Japanese Self Defense Force.
Since then, the P-1 has developed into a competitor for Boeing’s P-8 maritime patrol aircraft.
dodbuzz

Japan seeks to sell sub-hunting P-1 jet to UK

Japan is asking Britain to buy its P-1 submarine-hunting jet in a deal that could top $1 billion, a major step in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to arms exports after decades of self-imposed restrictions, people with knowledge of the proposal said.
Britain has not formally decided it will buy new maritime patrol planes, having canceled an order for nine built by BAE Systems in 2010 due to delays and cost over-runs, and the P-1, made by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, would face stiff competition from Boeing's P-8 Poseidon.
Japanese officials raised the issue of London buying the P-1 to replace the British-made Hawker Siddeley Nimrod, which was retired in 2011, when they met their UK counterparts to discuss defense-equipment cooperation at the Farnborough Air Show near London in July, the sources said.
naval.com.br

Japan to buy 6 F-35 and 20 P-1 Patrol Planes

Japan's defence planners are seeking their biggest budget ever for the coming fiscal year to pay for stealth fighters, drones and a hi-tech submarine, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bolsters the military amid an intensifying rivalry with China.
In an bid to better protect remote islands, Japan's Defense Ministry wants to buy six F-35 stealth fighters from Lockheed Martin as well as 20 P-1 patrol planes from Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
reuters

Japan Navy to resume use of P-1 patrol planes

The Maritime Self-Defense Force is expected to resume operations of its P-1 maritime patrol aircraft as early as this month, as the Defense Ministry has identified the cause of trouble with the plane’s engines that caused one of the aircraft to experience engine failure midflight in May.
The ministry announced Sept. 27 that the cause of patrol aircraft’s trouble was a problem in the fuel engine injection valves. The MSDF suspended flights of the P-1 planes following the incident.
The ministry will repair five P-1 planes deployed at its bases, including Atsugi Air Base in Kanagawa Prefecture.
According to the ministry, the incident occurred on May 13 over the Pacific Ocean during a test flight. At the time, the aircraft was trying to execute a nosedive from an altitude of about 10,000 meters to confirm the stability of warning systems. However, fuel combustion in the engines became unstable and all four briefly stopped working.
The MSDF and IHI Corp., which manufactured the engines, checked the plane and found that an irregularity in the fuel injection valves prevented a sufficient supply of fuel.
Following the incident, the makers improved programs responsible for controlling the valves to increase the flow of fuel.
Currently, the P-1 planes are in test operations. The ministry aims to start full-fledged operations in fiscal 2015 mainly for warning and surveillance in the East China Sea.
the-japan-news

First P-1 antisub patrol aircraft handed over to Japan Navy

Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. held a ceremony Tuesday in Gifu Prefecture to deliver the first two P-1 next-generation antisubmarine patrol aircraft to the Maritime Self-Defense Force.
The two planes will be deployed to the MSDF Atsugi base in Kanagawa Prefecture and will undergo flight tests for two years before engaging in maritime patrol missions.
japantimes