Kawasaki C-2

The Kawasaki C-2 (previously XC-2 and C-X) is a mid-size, twin-turbofan engine, long range, high speed military transport aircraft developed and manufactured by Kawasaki Aerospace Company. In June 2016, the C-2 formally entered service with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). There are ongoing efforts to sell it overseas to countries such as New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates. The aircraft is to supplant and replace the older Kawasaki C-1 turbofan transport that has been in service since the 1970s.
Development.
After researching foreign aircraft such as the C-130J Super Hercules, C-17 Globemaster III, and Airbus A400M, the Japanese Ministry of Defense concluded that there was no aircraft in production that possessed the capabilities that the JASDF required. In response to this need, the Japanese MOD commenced the production of plans to develop an indigenously designed and manufactured transport aircraft. In 1995, Kawasaki appealed to the Japanese Defense Agency (JDA) to issue funding for the development of a domestically-built C-X transport aircraft. In 2000, the JDA began forming its requirement for the replacement military airlifter; early determinations for the proposed project included that it would be powered by turbofan engines, possess the range to reach Hawaii from Japan, and carry double the payload of the C-130.
In May 2001, the MOD formally issued a request for proposals in regards to the new transport aircraft, referred to as the C-X program; at the time, the MOD planned to procure 40 aircraft to replace its aging Kawasaki C-1 and C-130 Hercules fleets. In December 2001, it was announced that Kawasaki Aerospace Company, the aerospace division of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, had been selected by the JDA as the prime contractor to develop the C-X.
Kawasaki developed the C-X in parallel with the "P-X", which it had also been selected to develop. As a cost saving measure, major airframe parts and system components were shared between the two aircraft. They use the same basic wing structure, although it is installed at different sweep angle and dihedral on the two versions, with different high lift devices and powerplant attachments. Common components include the cockpit windows, outer wings, horizontal stabilizer, and other systems. Internal shared parts include the auxiliary power unit, cockpit panel, flight control system computer, anti-collision lights, and gear control unit. As of 2007, the total development cost for the two aircraft has been , which is low compared to similar programs; for example, the development contract for the Boeing P-8 Poseidon alone was $3.89 billion in 2004.
Several powerplants were considered for the C-X, including the Rolls-Royce Trent 800, the General Electric CF6-80C2L1F and the Pratt & Whitney PW4000. In May 2003, Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries (IHI) announced its support of General Electric's CF6-80C2L1F engine, having formed an arrangement to locally manufacture the powerplant. That same year, the CF6-80C2L1F was selected to power the type. In August 2003, it was announced that the C-X project had passed a preliminary JDA design review, allowing for prototype manufacturing to proceed.
During the construction of the first prototype, there was a problem discovered with some American-made rivets which delayed the roll-out to 4 July 2007 along with its cousin aircraft P-X (since designated as the P-1). During structural testing, deformation of the XP-1 / XC-2 horizontal stabiliser was found, as well as cracking in the XC-2 undercarriage trunnion structure and parts of the fuselage; the cracking problem was reportedly difficult to address. The C-X program was embroiled in further controversy when allegations that bribery had been involved in the purchase of five General Electric CF6-80C2 engines, used to power the aircraft, were made by prosecutors.
In 2008, according to the "Chunichi Shimbun", the C-2 was set to cost about 