TOKYO, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) on Thursday held a ceremony at Miho Air Base in Tottori Prefecture, western Japan, to mark the official deployment there of three new C-2 transport aircraft.
The three advanced military transport aircraft, the largest transport planes operated by the Self-Defense Forces here, are designed and manufactured by Japan-based Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) and are to replace its smaller C-1 predecessor.
Japan's Air Self-Defense Force plans to have 10 of the transport aircraft deployed at the base by March 2021, with KHI having already taken orders for 40 C-2s to be built.
With similar dimensions and payload capacity to the Airbus A400M, Japan's Air Self-Defense Force's procurement of the twin-engine jet is purportedly to boost its transportation capacity.
Col. Yasuji Kitamura, the highest-ranking official at the Miho base, said that the role of the C-2 would be important in reinforcing aviation transportation capacity.
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