Japan completes development of UH-2 multirole helicopter for JGSDF

The Japan Ministry of Defense's (MoD's) Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) announced on 24 June that development of the UH-2 multirole medium helicopter has been completed, with the aircraft now set to enter service with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF).

Development of the first prototype (referred to as UH-X) began in fiscal year (FY) 2015. After conducting the helicopter's maiden flight in December 2018, along with a number of subsequent flight tests, manufacturer Subaru Corporation handed over the first prototype to the Japanese MoD in February 2019 at the company's Utsunomiya plant in Tochigi Prefecture.

A little over a year later, in March 2020, ATLA awarded the company contracts worth a combined total of JPY14.3 billion (USD129.2 million) for the production of the first six helicopters of the type for the JGSDF, with deliveries set to be completed by January 2023.

The company also said at the time that it was going to prepare for mass production of the platform, which is based on the Subaru Bell 412EPX commercial helicopter.

More recently, the MoD secured about JPY12.5 billion in its budget for FY 2021–22 to acquire seven more UH-2s. This means that the acquisition of 13 helicopters has so far been funded. Japan's 2019–2023 Mid-Term Defence Programme, published in December 2018, mentions plans to acquire an initial 34 UH-2s at a unit price of about JPY1.8 billion during the five-year period.

The MoD plans to replace the JGSDF's ageing fleet of 127 UH-1Js with about 150 UH-2s over the next two decades.

The new twin-engined helicopter features a four-bladed main rotor, unlike the single-engined UH-1J, which has a two-bladed main rotor.