The United Arab Emirates is considering a purchase of Japanese transport aircraft.
The Nikkei reported over the weekend that “[the Japanese] government is considering sales of the Air Self-Defense Force’s latest transport aircraft, the C-2, to the United Arab Emirates.”
According to the report, the Japanese government has provided to the United Arab Emirates technical specifications on the C-2.
The United Arab Emirates is considering a purchase of several C-2s, The Nikkei reported, citing a ‘senior Defense Ministry official’. The two sides are in the process of negotiating over price and the number of aircraft that the United Arab Emirates will purchase.
Before any sale can be concluded, the two sides would need to reach an agreement on the transfer of military hardware and technology.
The sale could run into complications due to the Emirati participation in the conflict in Yemen, for Japanese law prohibits military exports to countries involved in armed conflict. Another Defense Ministry official told The Nikkei, “The UAE is not the one who is leading the intervention,” which may help the deal go through.
Emirati troops are currently backing a military intervention led by Saudi Arabia in Yemen, where the two countries seek to restore President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and recapture the capital, Sana’a, which is in the hands of the Ansar Allah rebel group as well as loyalists to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Military markets analyst, covering Eurasia, Middle East, and Africa.
