Japan Retires First ShinMaywa US-2 Seaplane | Aviation

On Aug. 7, 2024, after 17 years of military service, Japan retired the first of its distinctive ShinMaywa US-2 amphibious air sea rescue aircraft.

In a decommissioning ceremony held at the ShinMaywa Industries manufacturing plant in Kobe on Aug. 7, Japan, company workers and military personnel commemorated the service life of 9901, the first US-2 to be built. The airframe rolled out of the factory in April 2003 before making its inaugural flight in December of that year. Five years of trials and testing later, 9901 entered service with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) in March 2007.

The now 21 year old aircraft is a modern derivative of the 1970s era ShinMaywa US-1, featuring more modern Rolls-Royce AE 2100 turboprop engines (similar to those found on the Lockheed C-130J), a glass cockpit, fly-by-wire controls, and a pressurized hull…

8月7日（水）、新明和工業株式会社にて、US-2…