ShinMaywa US-2 – The world’s most costly seaplane

The US-2 is a capable plane that is particularly helpful during rescue operations.

Introduce

In the current period, only a few countries in the world are capable of designing and manufacturing seaplanes, and Japan is one of them. At this time, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force are using ShinMaywa US-2 multi-role seaplanes.

A total of 6 aircraft of this type are in operation. The sixth seaplane was purchased for 12 billion yen in 2013, nearly $156 million. At such a price, US-2 can be classified as the most expensive seaplane in the world.

The development of the ShinMaywa US-2 took eight years to complete. With the Shin Meiwa US-1A fleet introduced in the 1970s beginning to reach the end of its service life, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force attempted to obtain funding for a replacement in the 1990s, but could not obtain enough to develop an entirely new aircraft.

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