The second meeting of the joint working group of India and Japan is expected to meet in March this year to take forward the proposal of the former acquiring ShinMaywa’s US-2 (Utility Seaplane Mark 2) amphibious aircraft. The first meeting was held in India and, according to sources in ShinMaywa, the proposal is moving on the right track and it is hoped that it would be cleared at the earliest.

While at the official level talks are going on, the ShinMaywa team was in full force at Defexpo explaining the many features of the amphibian aircraft. The mammoth 47-tonne aircraft, carrying 18 tonnes of load, can take off from, or land on, a 300-metre stretch of water or land, its four giant engines needing just seven seconds to get airborne. With a range of over 4,500 km, it can patrol areas 1,800 km away, and react to an emergency by landing 30 armed troops, even in 10-foot waves.

There are seven US-2 in service worldwide, all in a “search and rescue” role with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDS) and there is growing demand from countries for the amphibian.

Kanji Ishimaru, Managing Director of ShinMaywa India, said that the US-2 is a tried and tested amphibious aircraft which has served the JMSDF extremely well for over five years. Important characteristics of this aircraft include its capability of landing and take-off in high seas in rough sea state condition (up to sea state 5). In addition, to the central role of long-range search and rescue (SAR) and exclusive economic zone (EEZ) surveillance, this aircraft can be highly useful in conducting anti-piracy missions, long-range fleet support, remote island support and constabulary operations like fishery protection, prevention of toxic dumping at sea, illegal human migration and smuggling of weapons and drugs. For most of the stated missions, the Indian Navy is currently deploying its sophisticated and high-technology warships, incurring heavy costs on prolonged deployments. Additionally, we also believe that the unique capabilities of the US-2 amphibian aircraft can be gainfully utilised by the Indian Army as also the Indian Air Force in high-altitude areas, river/lake operations and for transportation and medical evacuation of people and stores from remote areas and forward locations.