Debut of the Kawasaki P-1 in England

Post-Second World War, after millions of casualties in the Asia- Pacific theatre, it is understandable as to why the new peacetime Japanese administration incorporated legislation which made it illegal to export military weapons (including aircraft), or to participate in overseas military operations. Still, this allowed the Japanese aviation industry to develop and build military aircraft, often in cooperation with Western partners, but restricted them to “home defence”.

Seventy years later, following increased concerns over the expansion of Chinese and Russian forces in the Pacific region and with rising tension over disputed sovereignty concerning islands in the South China Sea, the Japanese government is introducing new legislation to allow its military forces to play a more active role in supporting wider military cooperation with regional allies as well as the United States. For the first time since the Second World War, the Japanese aerospace industry has demonstrated a new military aviation programme in Europe in an attempt to interest potential export customers. The surprise appearance of Japan’s latest military aircraft, the Kawasaki P-1 at the recent RIAT air show in the UK, marked the first public expression of this new, more outward-looking defence initiative. It was also the first time that this new four jet-engined Maritime Patrol Aircraft had been on display outside Japan, which provided an interesting comparison with Boeing’s new P-8 Poseidon MPA, which also took part in the event, and which is one of the newest operational aircraft types to enter service with the Indian Navy.

The Kawasaki P- 1 was designed to provide a jet- powered long endurance/ long range patrol aircraft that could cover the large number of scattered and remote Pacific islands that are under Japanese national jurisdiction as well as the main Japanese coastal waters that have very large numbers of commercial shipping. These waters are seeing more submarine movements than ever before, and because of the large distances involved in carrying out maritime patrols, the Japanese Maritime Self- Defence Force ( JMSDF) decided upon its requirement for a jet- powered replacement for its fleet of Kawasaki/ Lockheed P-3C Orion MPA aircraft. These P-3s had been built under licence in Japan and have served the JMSDF well for many decades, but their turboprop power is now dated and although this format provides good low-level performance in seeking and tracking surface and sub-surface vessels, as also in the search & rescue role, the transit times are long. The US Navy had reached