Tokyo looking for new ELINT aircraft to replace JMSDF's EP-3C fleet

The Japan Ministry of Defense's (MoD's) Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) is looking for a new electronic intelligence (ELINT) aircraft to replace the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's (JMSDF's) ageing fleet of Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) EP-3C ELINT platforms.

In a request for information (RFI) issued on 3 September, ATLA stated that it is looking for companies willing to support an “analysis of alternatives” regarding the acquisition of a new ELINT aircraft, both in terms of the airframe and the on-board equipment, adding that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) would also be considered as baseline platforms.

The deadline for responses is 24 September, after which the MoD will release another RFI to companies that meet the “participation requirements”.

Based on official documentation, both domestic and foreign companies can submit responses, provided they can meet at least one of the following requirements: a track record in research and development related to this new equipment; the required knowledge and technology to develop and manufacture the equipment; or the right to sell the equipment in Japan.

The RFI comes after Tokyo published on 31 August its defence budget request for fiscal year 2022–23, in which it asks for JPY1.6 billion (USD14.5 million) for the development of the EP-3C replacement, specifically to “research improved signal detection capabilities for the next generation of electronic intelligence collection system”. Moreover, the ministry has requested JPY300 million to install new sensor systems on an EP-3C airframe that will be used as a test platform for the development of the new ELINT aircraft.

In its budget request for the previous fiscal year the Japanese MoD had allocated JPY5 billion to research and development related to the EP-3C replacement aircraft.