Japan’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA) states that development of the EC-2 electronic warfare aircraft will complete in fiscal year 2026, ending March 31, 2027, with service entry in fiscal year 2027. The aircraft, derived from the Kawasaki C-2 transport, was photographed at Gifu Air Base in February 2026, marking its public debut as airframe 18-1203.
The EC-2 features a bulbous platypus nose housing radar jamming antennas, lateral fairings for side-looking electronic countermeasures and support measures sensors, and a dorsal hump over the wings for jamming enemy data links and satellite communications. Additional fuselage bulges accommodate antenna arrays for detecting radar emissions, analyzing radio frequencies, and transmitting jamming signals. These modifications enable stand-off electronic attack, disrupting adversary radars, missile guidance, communications networks, and sensors from beyond threat engagement ranges.
Powered by two General Electric CF6-80C2 turbofan engines, the C-2 base measures 43.9 meters long, with a 44.4-meter wingspan and 14.2-meter height. It achieves Mach 0.82, carries 20 tons over 7,600 kilometers, and supports short 500-meter takeoffs. The variant retains a glass cockpit, fly-by-wire controls, and tactical flight management system. Post-entry, EC-2s will join the Electronic Warfare Operations Group at Iruma Air Base.
Replacing the single EC-1, retired in 2025 after service since 1986, Japan plans up to four EC-2s, quadrupling capacity. Of 18 C-2s delivered, one became the RC-2 SIGINT variant, leaving 16 transports, with four production slots debated for EC-2 allocation. The program, budgeted at ¥41.4 billion within ¥508.6 billion for intelligence enhancements, supports counter-air operations and suppression of enemy air defenses.