page_title: Shin Meiwa US-1A
section_title: Further development
hierarchical_section_title: Shin Meiwa US-1A / Design and development / Further development
caption_attribution_description: English: JMSDF US-1A
context_page_description: The Shin Meiwa PS-1 and US-1A is a large STOL aircraft designed for anti-submarine warfare and air-sea rescue work respectively by Japanese aircraft manufacturer Shin Meiwa. The PS-1 anti-submarine warfare variant is a flying boat which carried its own beaching gear on board, while the search-and-rescue orientated US-1A is a true amphibian.
  Development of the PS-1 has its origins in flying boat research performed by the Shin Meiwa during the 1950s. The company, believing that their design was capable of regular use upon the open sea, petitioned the Japanese military to acquire the type as a maritime patrol aircraft. Following the demonstration of a converted Grumman HU-16 Albatross testbed aircraft, referred to as the UF-XS, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force awarded Shin Meiwa a contract in 1966 to further develop its design via two further prototypes, which were designated PS-X. During 1969, the JMSDF placed the first order for an eventual fleet of 21 ASW aircraft, designated PS-1; orders for the SAR variant, designated US-1A, were also issued during the 1970s.
context_section_description: The PS-1 had not been in service long before the JMSDF requested the development of a search-and-rescue (SAR) variant. Shin Meiwa, being keen to pursue the aircraft's development, embarked upon fulfilling this request. By deleting much of the PS-1's military equipment, room was freed up to provide the aircraft with a greater fuel capacity, retractable landing gear, and rescue equipment. The new variant, which was designated the US-1A, could also quickly be converted for troop-carrying. The US-1A was Japan's first amphibian, operating from land and sea, which meant that it could transfer survivors to land facilities via ambulance more quickly. First flown on October 15, 1974, it was accepted into service during the following year, and eventually 19 aircraft were purchased. From the seventh aircraft on, an uprated version of the original engine was used, all aircraft were eventually modified to this US-1A standard.
  During the 1990s, by which point the US-1A fleet was beginning to show its age, the JMSDF attempted to obtain funding towards acquiring a replacement, but could not secure enough to develop an entirely new aircraft. Therefore, during 1995, ShinMaywa (as Shin Meiwa had been renamed, reportedly so that the name would be easier to pronounce for non-Japanese speakers) set about planning to produce an upgraded version of the US-1A, initially referred to as the US-1A kai (US-1A 改 - "improved US-1A"). This aircraft features numerous aerodynamic refinements and modernised systems, along with a pressurised hull, and the adoption of more powerful Rolls-Royce AE 2100 engines. Flight tests of the new variant began on December 18, 2003. The JMSDF has chosen to purchase up to 14 of these aircraft, which has entered service as the ShinMaywa US-2.
caption: Head-on view of a JMSDF US-1A parked on land
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