MSDF to Resume Use of P-1 Patrol Planes

The Maritime Self-Defense Force is expected to resume operations of its P-1 maritime patrol aircraft as early as this month, as the Defense Ministry has identified the cause of trouble with the plane’s engines that caused one of the aircraft to experience engine failure midflight in May.

The ministry announced Sept. 27 that the cause of patrol aircraft’s trouble was a problem in the fuel engine injection valves. The MSDF suspended flights of the P-1 planes following the incident.

Based on the findings, the ministry will repair five P-1 planes deployed at its bases, including Atsugi Air Base in Kanagawa Prefecture, then provide an explanation to local governments concerned.

Once these actions are taken, flights of the P-1 planes could resume this month. The ministry said the engine problem is unlikely to adversely affect alert and surveillance activities.

According to the ministry, the incident occurred on May 13 over the Pacific Ocean during a test flight. At the time, the aircraft was trying to execute a nosedive from an altitude of about 10,000 meters to confirm the stability of warning systems. However, fuel combustion in the engines became unstable and all four briefly stopped working.

The MSDF and IHI Corp., which manufactured the engines, checked the plane and found that an irregularity in the fuel injection valves prevented a sufficient supply of fuel. Following the incident, the makers improved programs responsible for controlling the valves to increase the flow of fuel.

The P-1 planes are domestically produced aircraft developed by the ministry’s Technical Research and Development Institute. They are equipped with such devices as sonobuoys for submarine detection and are viewed as keystones of warning and surveillance activities around Japan.

Currently, the P-1 planes are in test operations. The ministry aims to start full-fledged operations in fiscal 2015 mainly for warning and surveillance in the East China Sea.

A serious problem

By Tsuyoshi Takazawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

The engine trouble with the MSDF’s P-1 plane was a serious incident that could have significantly affected warning and surveillance activities around Japan.

The ministry needs to ensure the aircraft is properly repaired and deploy the planes under the highest level of confidence. The trouble occurred because the shape of the engines was partially altered for mass production.

While the move was aimed at simplifying maintenance work, the incident naturally brought criticism to the ministry over the apparent insufficient data it had collected on how the engine performed.

It was fortunate that the cause of the problem was identified about four months after the incident and that adverse affects on the MSDF’s warning and surveillance activities and the ministry’s plan to deploy the P-1 planes were avoided.

The fact that the aircraft were domestically produced made it possible for the MSDF and officials of the manufacturer to cooperate closely in fixing the problem.

“If it was foreign-made, it would have taken at least double the time,” a senior ministry official said. Japanese defense-related industries have been on the decline in recent years due to dwindling budgets.

The central government needs to take steps toward converting defense-related equipment for civilian use to establish a firm technological basis.
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