Japan's ShinMaywa Plans New US-2 Flying Boat Factory on Kobe Airport Island by 2029
ShinMaywa Industries plans to build a new factory on the artificial island that hosts Kobe Airport, where it would assemble the US-2 amphibious search-and-rescue aircraft and other aerospace parts. Operations are targeted for 2029, with an investment reported at several billion yen.
Japan's only maker of military flying boats is preparing a new home for its flagship aircraft. ShinMaywa Industries plans to build a manufacturing plant on the artificial island that hosts Kobe Airport, where it would assemble the US-2 amphibious search-and-rescue aircraft. Operations are targeted to begin in 2029.
The city of Kobe ran a tender for an industrial plot in the northwestern part of the airport island, and ShinMaywa was selected to negotiate for the site. According to the tender details as reported, the proposed site covers about 17,500 square metres under a 50-year lease. The company's investment has been reported at several billion yen.
Where the new plant would be built. Militrax graphic.
More than one aircraft
The plant would handle final assembly of the US-2, and ShinMaywa is also considering building other aerospace components there, including parts made from carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic. ShinMaywa President Takashi Kunugihara said the company aims to expand the range of orders it takes in the defence sector, as well as in commercial aviation.
ShinMaywa has not detailed whether the new plant will increase the US-2's production rate, and no new US-2 export order has been announced.
A rare aircraft
The US-2 is a four-engine flying boat that can take off and land on water as well as runways. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force uses it for search and rescue, including in rough seas: ShinMaywa says it can land in waves of up to three metres. Including its predecessor, the US-1, the company's amphibians have flown more than 1,000 rescue missions.
A JMSDF US-2 at Iwakuni, home of the Navy's flying boat squadron. File photo.
The aircraft is about 33 metres long, is powered by four Rolls-Royce AE2100J turboprop engines, carries a crew of 11 and has a range of more than 4,700 kilometres, according to Militarnyi. Production has been slow: the outlet reports that only nine have been built since 2003, with one more on order.
The US-2 has been offered abroad for years, most prominently to India, but no export deal has been signed. A new, modern production site could matter if Japan's loosening defence export rules ever turn that interest into an order.
The Militrax Weekly
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