Japanese Military Exports

[nev]

What with the JSDF GB going on atm, I'm on a bit of a modern Japanese kick right now.  Japan appears to be trying to become more and more self-sufficient with an increasing number of indiginous designs, but I can't think of any that have been exported...

Is this a constitutional thing (ban on weapons exports)?  Licensing issue? (eg copying foreign jet engines)  Cost? ($100M for an F-2!!)

[Shasper]

AFAIK they dont export their home grown stuff, and they have either full or partial (ie "joint") production licenses on all their foreign-purchased weapon systems (the JM61 cannon comes to mind).

Hopefully someone can elaborate more on exactly what our eastern friends are up too



Shas B)

[The Rat]

...but I can't think of any that have been exported...

I suspect that your 'what if' universe is about to change that?    

[Iranian F-14A]

Well,right off the top of my head,I'm thinking the only military exports Japan has done since 1945 was some YS-11 transports to the Hellenic Air Force.Might be a few MU-2s(I think the Mexican AF may have one or two) thats about it.

[jcf]

Japan has had a 'no arms export' policy since 1976. Restrictions were loosened in 2004 to allow export of Japanese constructed Patriot missiles for TMD.
The ban evidently never covered electronics or optics, so they've exported lots of tech for weapons systems.

http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/un/disarmamen...licy/index.html

http://www.glocom.org/media_reviews/w_revi...w148/index.html

[Howard of Effingham]

istr that in the early 1980's there was an idea for the st helena government to buy
a couple of the shin-meiwa 4 engined turboprop flying boats [can't remember the
exact designations] but it fell foul of the law that nev mentions.

[nev]

Thanks for those links Jon, very interesting reading.  So even during the 35 year "ban" it would seem "arms" could be defined loosely.  I reckon a Kawasaki C-1 or a Mitsubishi T-4 could avoid falling foul of that declaration  Especially if the C-1s are "falsies" like those export Il-76's

I suspect that your 'what if' universe is about to change that?

*whistles innocently*

China retakes Taiwan by force, western world led by President Hilary Clinton stands by and lets them - such appeasement of an increasingly belligerant China scares the beejeezus out of her neighbours who believe they can no longer rely on America to help them out form a new tri-partite alliance.  I'm thinking Japan, India and.....South Korea?

So South Korean F-2s?  Indian C-X's replacing their aging Il-76s an An-32s?

Hmmm, maybe this should go to Alt History....

[B777LR]

Indian C-X's replacing their aging Il-76s an An-32s?

I can only imagine it replacing the An-32s, if not they would be lacking a large cargo aircraft or they would need to buy C-17 (not impossible, they already bought 4 C-130Js) or this Shaanxi transport plane:
http://www.sinodefence.com/airforce/airlif...retransport.asp

[Shasper]

I'm guessing if India has to look elsewhere for military hardware it's because things went sour w/t PRC, hence no Shaanxi.


Shas B)

[Spey_Phantom]

i do know that japan sold some MU-2's to the Swedish AF  B)  

[elmayerle]

i do know that japan sold some MU-2's to the Swedish AF.

Unarmed variants for target-tow purposes only.  The only armed MU-2 variants were a number of LR-1s operated by the JGSDF.

[Iranian F-14A]

Didn't Sweden's Sea Knights come from Japan as well or were they built by Boeing? If they are Japanese,which I'm thinking they might be,they are configured,or were for ASW ops with dipping sonar and torpedos.But again,as to if they were sold unarmed then modified in country or sold in that config,thats another story.

[jonesthetank]

The Swedish Sea Knights are KV107s, and were built in Japan by Kawasaki.

Chances are that the ASW equipment was fitted in Sweden, so they were sold unarmed.

In the 1950s Japan did sell some Fuji licenced built versions of the T34 Mentor trainer, some of which were supplied to Asian nations as part of war reparations.

All that aside the RNZAF F2s look fantastic, and I quite fancy building up a Type 90 MBT in Kiwi colours, and maybe Australian colours as well.

Mark

[upnorth]

And sell some Mitsubishi F-1s and T-2s second hand if they still have some life left in them.

[B777LR]

And sell some Mitsubishi F-1s and T-2s second hand if they still have some life left in them.

Afrika and South America for these? Argentina, Chile (they dont have any Jags), Brazil (the A-4s are getting high on their years)