Indian Navy will acquire 12 Japanese Shinmaywa’s long-range amphibious aircraft US-2i for an approximate $1.65 billion under the government-to-government deal.
The US-2i aircraft will be procured under the ‘buy global’ clause of the Defence Procurement Procedure, government sources were quoted as saying by Financial Express Saturday.
The deal, which is going to be government-to-government, was changed from ‘buy and make global’ to ‘buy global’ after amendments were made to two chapters of the DPP, and subsequent rounds of discussions with the industry association.
The deal found mention in the recent interaction between the two nations’ defense ministers in New Delhi earlier this month. The Defense Minister of Japan Gen Nakatani was paying a bilateral visit to India at the invitation of Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar.
In April 2015 ShinMaywa US-2 involved in major accident at sea. Read more
The two ministers held the annual Defense Ministerial Meeting on 14 July 2016 in New Delhi.
A senior officer was quoted by FE as saying that, “The plan to Buy Global will be sent to the Defence Acquisition Committee in a couple of months before any formal decision is made. Also, there will be a 30% offset clause that the Japanese side will be signing. ”
A source in the Japanese company told defenseworld.net last week that, “The case is still to go to Services Capital Acquisition Requirement Categorization Board (SCAP) and later to Cabinet Committee for Security and is likely that the SCAP will be appointed in August.”
The deal, which has an approval of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, is waiting for an acceptance of necessity (AON) from the Indian Navy.
Thailand Interested in US-2 Amphibious Aircraft too. The Prime Minister and Defense Minister of Thailand in exclusive interview with Kyodo News in Bangkok said, “Thai Air Force has expressed interest in Japan aircraft.”
The ShinMaywa US-2 is an amphibious short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft manufactured by Japan-based ShinMaywa Industries. Designed for air-sea rescue missions, the US-2 is operated by the 31st Fleet Air Wing of the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF).
The ShinMaywa US-2 fleet is deployed across the remote islands of Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zones to provide surveillance and emergency medical transportation services. The aircraft can quickly reach remote islands and sites of maritime accidents during search and rescue (SAR) operations.
The US-2 amphibian aircraft was displayed at Defexpo India 2012. The aircraft has been offered to India in response to the Indian Navy’s global request for information (RFI) for nine amphibious SAR aircraft. The US-2 is the first Japanese aircraft to be offered to the Indian defence market.
The improvements to the engines and the introduction of a pressurized cabin increased speed and extended operational range over the previous US-1A model. These improvements make possible rescue capability for an even wider operational area.