Japan Wants U.S. Marines to Ride Into Battle in a Mitsubishi
What a difference seven decades make. In the early 1940s, Mitsubishi Zeroes of the Imperial Japanese Navy tangled with U.S. Grumman Wildcats and Hellcats in the skies over the west Pacific. Now, the aircraft’s builder wants the U.S. Marines to sign up for its amphibious assault vehicle.
Japan is getting into the arms export game after scrapping a law forbidding it, with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries now in talks with a U.S. company to partner on the vehicle, Reuters reports.
In 2014, the Japanese government overturned a law — created in the wake of World War 2 — banning foreign arms sales. As the largest supplier to the country’s Self Defense Force (which controls the rights to the technology provided to it), MHI now has its sights set on America as it looks for overseas buyers.
“The U.S. is the easiest overseas market for us to do business in,” Hisakazu Mizutani, head of MHI’s Defense and Space Systems, told Reuters. He claims his company was approached by the U.S. company, not the other way around.
MHI is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi Group, which also includes Mitsubishi Motors. It has no experience dealing with foreign arms buyers, so a partnership could help the company transition into this new phase. Already, the company has produced American products under license for the SDF, such as Chinook helicopters and Patriot missile batteries. Its armored vehicle technology would be the most attractive product for a foreign buyer.
Today, the Japanese defense ministry said it will start research on a new amphibious assault vehicle to replace the AAV-P7/A1 used by the United States Marine Corps. That vehicle entered service in the early 1970s and is showing its age.
[Image: U.S. Pacific Command/ Flickr]
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Nothing new here, in the Korean War you will see Toyoda (yes, spelling did change) 2 1/2 ton trucks delivering US troops to the front. These were the standard military truck made in Japan for the US Army. Toyoda is proudly stamped into the tailgate of the truck.
I do believe this is good. Mitsubishi even build F-15s. The US has sold the Japanese Self Defence Force much, and the US buying Japanese military hardware should be a given. Japan has proven it can build the best and most reliable off road vehicles for the average person. Kia also has a very large military vehicle manufacturing side to it's business. Mitsubishi is a very large business and in just involved in electrical and automotive products. Hopefully the US literally gets a better bang for it's buck.
The good news is that each unit is available for nothing down and just $149 a month. The dealership is located in Boca Raton, Florida.
I buried my grandfather last week. He was late getting into WW2, and wound up guarding prisoners on Okinawa for a couple of years after hostilities ended. He was 99. So, essentially all who fought in the war are now dead. It's been 70+ years. Japan is a close ally. We can all move on now.