Japan to show off new heavy lift military plane in search for first overseas arms sale

Built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, the C-2 will fly to the United Arab Emirates on Nov. 8 to participate in the Dubai Airshow and will be on display in New Zealand from Nov. 25 to Dec. 1, the Japan Air Self Defence Force said in a news release.

A C-2 sale would secure Japan its first major overseas arms contract.

"A number of nations have shown interest in the C-2 and we want to show off our advanced technology," Japan's Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told a regular media briefing.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifted a decades-old ban on arms exports in 2014 in a bid to lower procurement costs by widening production bases and use military-industrial collaboration to bolster diplomatic ties.

The C-2 represents a major logistical upgrade on Japan's older C-1 transports. It can lift nearly four times as much and fly six times as far, enough range to reach Afghanistan from Tokyo.

Development of the C-2 had been delayed for several years while engineers struggled with defects that forced them to redesign sections of the aircraft, including the rear cargo door.