Japan begins flight testing XEC-2 electronic warfare aircraft

The Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) XEC-2 stand-off electronic warfare (EW) aircraft conducted its first flight in March 2026. (JASDF/ADTC)

The Japan Air Self-Defense Force's (JASDF's) new Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) XEC-2 stand-off electronic warfare (EW) aircraft has formally entered its flight testing phase of development, the service has said.

The testing and evaluation activities began on 15 July, the JASDF's Air Development and Test Command (ADTC) said on 17 July. The milestone comes four months after the aircraft conducted its maiden flight in March 2026.

ADTC released video footage showing the aircraft taking off from Gifu Air Base in Nagoya, where its Air Development and Test Wing is based, accompanied by a Mitsubishi F-2 aircraft operating as a chase plane.

Although the aircraft has been at Gifu since early March, the JASDF formally announced its deployment to the Air Development and Test Wing on 9 June.

Earlier images showed the aircraft carrying minimal JASDF markings and the tail number 68-1203. The latest footage shows what appears to be the ADTC logo, indicating its transition to formal flight testing.

Publicly accessible ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) data shows the aircraft took off from Gifu Air Base after 1535 h (UTC) on 15 July and landed at about 1648 h (UTC). The data shows the aircraft reached a maximum barometric altitude of 23,500 ft during the flight.

The Japan Ministry of Defense (MoD) previously told Janes that the aircraft is designed to collect electronic information and support Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) operations “by jamming an adversary's communications, radar, and other functions from outside the adversary's threat envelope”.

Japan began developing the aircraft in fiscal year (FY) 2020, according to the MoD. Janes