The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk is an unmanned (UAV) surveillance aircraft. It was initially designed by Ryan Aeronautical (now part of Northrop Grumman), and known as Tier II+ during development. The Global Hawk performs duties similar to that of the Lockheed U-2. The RQ-4 provides a broad overview and systematic surveillance using high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and long-range electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensors with long loiter times over target areas. It can survey as much as 40,000 square miles (100,000 km2) of terrain a day, an area the size of South Korea or Iceland. The Global Hawk is operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). It is used as a High-Altitude Long Endurance platform covering the spectrum of intelligence collection capability to support forces in worldwide military operations. According to the USAF, the superior surveillance capabilities of the aircraft allow more precise weapons targeting and better protection of friendly forces. Cost overruns led to the original plan to acquire 63 aircraft being cut to 45, and to a 2013 proposal to mothball the 21 Block 30 signals intelligence variants. Each aircraft was to cost US$60.9 million in 2001, but this had risen to $222.7 million per aircraft (including development costs) by 2013. The U.S. Navy has developed the Global Hawk into the MQ-4C Triton maritime surveillance platform.
The Kawasaki C-2 (previously XC-2 and C-X) is a mid-size, twin-turbofan engine, long range, high speed military transport aircraft developed and manufactured by Kawasaki Aerospace Company. In June 2016, the C-2 formally entered service with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). There are ongoing efforts to sell it overseas to countries such as New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates. The aircraft is to supplant and replace the older Kawasaki C-1 turbofan transport that has been in service since the 1970s. After researching foreign aircraft such as the C-130J Super Hercules, C-17 Globemaster III, and Airbus A400M, the Japanese Ministry of Defence concluded that there was no aircraft in production that possessed the capabilities that the JASDF required. In response to this need, the Japanese MOD commenced the production of plans to develop an indigenously designed and manufactured transport aircraft. In 1995, Kawasaki appealed to the Japanese Defence Agency (JDA) to issue funding for the development of a domestically-built C-X transport aircraft. In 2000, the JDA began forming its requirement for the replacement military airlifter; early determinations for the proposed project included that it would be powered by turbofan engines, possess the range to reach Hawaii from Japan, and carry double the payload of the C-130. In May 2001, the MOD formally issued a request for proposals in regards to the new transport aircraft, referred to as the C-X program; at the time, the MOD planned to procure 40 aircraft to replace its aging Kawasaki C-1 and C-130 Hercules fleets. In December 2001, it was announced that Kawasaki Aerospace Company, the aerospace division of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, had been selected by the JDA as the prime contractor to develop the C-X. Kawasaki developed the C-X in parallel with the P-X, which it had also been selected to develop. As a cost saving measure, major airframe parts and system components were shared between the two aircraft. They use the same basic wing structure, although it is installed at different sweep angle and dihedral on the two versions, with different high lift devices and powerplant attachments. Common components include the cockpit windows, outer wings, horizontal stabilizer, and other systems. Internal shared parts include the auxiliary power unit, cockpit panel, flight control system computer, anti-collision lights, and gear control unit. As of 2007, the total development cost for the two aircraft has been 345 billion yen (or roughly equal to $2.9 billion), which is low compared to similar programs; for example, the development contract for the Boeing P-8 Poseidon alone was $3.89 billion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawasaki_C-2
