Japan In Talks with New Zealand for Defense Aircraft: Tokyo aiming for its first major arms contract (excerpt)
After its first attempt to sell Kawasaki P-1 maritime patrol aircraft to Britain failed last year, Japan is now marketing the aircraft to New Zealand, which may however find its four engines unnecessarily thirsty. (JMSDF photo)
The deal will also involve the maintenance of the planes, and is potentially worth billions of dollars. Tokyo in September provided unclassified information on the P-1 maritime patrol plane and C-2 transporter, both developed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, in response to Wellington's requests.
Representatives from Japan's defense ministry and Kawasaki Heavy are in New Zealand for negotiations. Japan could come up with a proposal in the first half of 2017 concerning the price, production process and maintenance of the planes. It will also consider jointly producing certain parts with New Zealand.
New Zealand will choose the winning bid as early as this summer out of a pool including American and European proposals. The Japanese government will also negotiate a treaty with New Zealand to allow the transfer of defense equipment and technology, a prerequisite to the potential deal. (end of excerpt)
Click here for the full story, on the Nikkei website.
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