India and Japan are set to firm up an agreement Indo-Japan joint venture to jointly produce amphibious military aircraft during the upcoming visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The US 2 amphibious aircraft, that has applications for search and rescue, surveillance as well as intelligence gathering, will be produced in India not only for domestic orders but will also be pitched jointly for exports in the region and beyond Besides the US 2 programme, the two sides are also expected to firm up a larger umbrella agreement to promote the joint development and production of military systems in support of the Make in India initiative.

Background:-

• The Rs 7440 crore US 2 proposal was discussed during the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Kuala Lumpur where he met Abe, and it was jointly agreed to take the initiative forward.
• Japanese manufacturer ShinMaywa has also sent a letter to the Indian government with details of plans to make the aircraft in India in collaboration with Pipavav which is now controlled by the Anil Ambani group.
• Japan’s plans to export its first military equipment to India had hit a bump in April with the defence ministry asking the navy to review, among other projects, the operational requirement of the ShinMaywa US 2.
• The report on the Rs 7440-crore project has since been submitted by the navy in consultation with the Coast Guard and has been given the go-ahead as part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative.

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_________________, on November 9 announced a joint venture (JV) that will manufacture aerostructures for aircraft and collaborate on integrated systems development opportunities in India.