Kawasaki OH-1

The Kawasaki OH-1, nicknamed Ninja, is a military scout and observation helicopter developed and built by Kawasaki Aerospace Company for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, which bought it as a domestic successor to its OH-6D Loach fleet. It is the first helicopter to be produced entirely in Japan. Four prototypes were delivered for service testing between June and August 1997, and the first production-standard aircraft reached the Ground Self-Defense Force in January 2000. Procurement was slow, with only a handful bought each year, and by March 2014 a total of 38 had entered service, complementing rather than replacing the OH-6Ds. It carries air-to-air missiles for self-defence, and attack and utility derivatives were proposed but not built.