Japan officially launches EC-2 electronic warfare jet flight test campaign at Gifu Air Base.

On July 15, 2026, Japan's Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA) commenced the formal flight-test campaign for the XEC-2 stand-off electronic warfare aircraft at Gifu Air Base, officially transferring the platform to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force Air Development and Test Wing. This transition from contractor-led airworthiness flights to military-envelope validation serves to establish critical flight restrictions, center of gravity limits, and operational suitability parameters for the modified Kawasaki C-2 airframe. Ultimately, the evaluation will determine if the high-power mission systems can successfully execute active electronic attack and electromagnetic jamming without compromising flight safety or performance.

The XEC-2 evaluation will assess structural aerodynamics, mission system reliability, and electromagnetic compatibility across a comprehensive military flight envelope using the converted production C-2 serial 68-1203. Successful validation will clear the path for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force to acquire its planned four-aircraft EC-2 fleet, providing the necessary operational depth to replace the retired single-aircraft EC-1 fleet.

Related topic: Japan unveils EC-2 electronic warfare aircraft to blind enemy radar and protect fighter jets

The Kawasaki EC-2's primary task will be to operate outside the engagement range of hostile air defenses and interfere with the sensors and communications that enable those defenses to function as a coordinated network. (Picture source: ATLA)

On July 15, 2026, Japan's Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA) began the formal flight-test campaign for the Kawasaki EC-2 stand-off electronic warfare aircraft at Gifu Air Base, moving the program from industrial development into Japan Air Self-Defense Force evaluation. The prototype, known as XEC-2, had been transferred to the Air Development and Test Wing on June 9, 2026, after completing its first flight in the modified configuration on March 17, 2026. The XEC-2 is based on the Kawasaki C-2 transport aircraft and is intended to become Japan's first dedicated operational stand-off electronic attack aircraft, with the EC-2 designation expected after qualification.

The current campaign will assess the XEC-2 as an integrated support aircraft, including flight performance, electromagnetic compatibility, mission system reliability, operator workload, maintenance requirements and operational suitability. Japan plans to acquire four EC-2s, replacing the previous single-aircraft EC-1 fleet and giving the Japanese Air Force enough depth to divide the fleet between training, maintenance, testing and operational availability. The July 15 campaign begins at a different level from the contractor flights conducted with the help of Kawasaki after the March 17 first flight. The earlier sorties primarily established basic airworthiness after structural conversion, while the Air Development and Test Wing must now validate the XEC-2 across a military flight envelope and determine whether its electronic warfare equipment can be operated without degrading aircraft safety or performance.

Tests are expected to measure takeoff distance, climb rate, cruise behavior, stall characteristics, crosswind handling, fuel consumption, vibration, structural loading and control response with the new radomes and fairings installed. Engineers must also examine whether the additional drag and weight affect the C-2's center of gravity, engine margins or endurance when the mission systems are drawing maximum electrical power. The evaluation will therefore produce the flight restrictions, emergency procedures, maintenance intervals and mission-planning data required before the EC-2 can be accepted for operational use. The XEC-2 prototype was converted from C-2 serial 68-1203, the first production C-2, rather than being manufactured as a new electronic warfare aircraft.

The Kawasaki C-2 is 43.9 m long, has a 44.4 m wingspan and stands 14.2 m high, with a maximum payload of 36 tonnes. It is powered by two General Electric CF6-80C2 turbofan engines, reaches Mach 0.82 and can carry 20 tonnes over 7,600 km in the transport configuration. These figures explain why the C-2 was selected for the mission: the aircraft offers more internal volume, payload margin, electrical generation capacity and cooling potential than the retired C-1 airframe. The XEC-2 retains the C-2's high-mounted wing, T-tail, rear cargo ramp and fly-by-wire flight controls, but part of the original cargo volume is now occupied by electronic receivers, transmitters, processors, operator consoles, power-conditioning units and cooling equipment. 

The external configuration shows that the EC-2 carries a distributed electronic warfare architecture rather than a single jammer. The standard C-2 nose has been replaced by a large forward radome, while additional fairings are installed above the fuselage and on both sides of the rear section between the wing and horizontal stabilizer. This arrangement provides antenna coverage across several sectors and allows the aircraft to receive, classify, and transmit electromagnetic energy in more than one direction without continuously pointing the nose at the target area. The side fairings also appear large enough to contain directional arrays, cooling ducts and associated electronics, while dorsal housings can support communications, satellite connectivity or additional frequency coverage.

Integrating high-power transmitters into a transport aircraft requires extensive electromagnetic shielding, as the jamming equipment can interfere with navigation systems, radios, flight controls and onboard sensors if power management and isolation are insufficient. The EC-2's operational purpose is to remain outside the effective engagement zones of hostile air defenses while disrupting the sensor and communications network that supports them. Likely target sets include long-range surveillance radars, target acquisition radars, surface-to-air missile fire control radars, fighter control communications, and tactical datalinks linking sensors, command posts, and missile batteries. Jamming can reduce radar detection range, corrupt track quality, delay target handover, create false contacts or interrupt the transfer of engagement orders without requiring the physical destruction of every emitter.

During a strike or counter-air mission, the EC-2 could support F-35A, F-15J and F-2 formations by reducing the quality and timeliness of hostile targeting data. The aircraft would operate at greater distance than escort jammers such as the EA-18G Growler, trading proximity and concentrated effect for endurance, broader coverage and lower exposure to short- and medium-range surface-to-air missiles. Within the C-2 family, the EC-2 and RC-2 perform complementary but separate roles. The RC-2 is configured for electronic intelligence collection, intercepting radar and communications emissions, measuring parameters such as frequency, pulse repetition, waveform characteristics and location, and contributing those data to emitter libraries.

The EC-2 is designed to use that intelligence for active electronic attack by selecting jamming techniques, transmitting against designated frequencies, and adapting its output as threat systems change operating modes. In practical terms, the RC-2 can help identify and classify a radar network before a mission, while the EC-2 can then attempt to degrade that network during operations. Common use of the C-2 airframe also reduces the number of unique engines, flight control components, landing gear systems and structural parts in service, although the mission equipment, operator training and software support will remain highly specialized. The new EC-2 replaces the EC-1, which entered service in June 1986 and was retired in March 2025 after nearly 39 years of operation.

The EC-1 was converted from the Kawasaki C-1 and carried the J/ALQ-5 electronic countermeasure system, later upgraded to the J/ALQ-5 Kai standard, together with signal-processing equipment installed in an enlarged nose, tail radome and several fuselage fairings. Only one EC-1 was built, which meant scheduled depot maintenance or an unplanned fault could remove Japan's entire dedicated airborne electronic warfare fleet from service. Unlike the EC-2, the EC-1's principal functions centered on training, electronic threat simulation, testing and evaluation rather than sustained operational electronic attack. A four-aircraft EC-2 SOJ fleet remains small, but it allows one aircraft to undergo maintenance, one to support training or testing, and one or two to remain available for contingency preparation or deployment.

The Air Development and Test Wing will now determine whether the XEC-2 can meet Japan's operational requirements for a fleet of only four EC-2 Stand-Off Jammer (SOJ) aircraft. Its flight test units will measure handling and performance, engineering personnel will record component failure rates and maintenance hours, and the Electronic Warfare Technical Squadron will evaluate the mission system against simulated radar and communications environments. The campaign must therefore establish transmitter operating limits, cooling performance, electrical demand, mission-data loading procedures, operator numbers, crew workload, and the time required to prepare the aircraft for a sortie. It must also determine how quickly failed electronic modules can be replaced and whether the fleet can sustain acceptable availability when one aircraft is in heavy maintenance. The outcome will shape the EC-2's operating concept, basing arrangements, training pipeline and readiness model before Japan moves from a single experimental aircraft to a first operational stand-off electronic attack unit.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.

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