After four and a half decades in service with Japanese Self Defence Forces ,the YS-11M is set for retirement. They will be replaced by 6 used US KC-130R. YS-11 was designed a low-winged twin-turboprop monoplane seating 60 passengers. Although the aircraft was mainly designed and manufactured in Japan, the engines were built by Rolls-Royce, with the 2,275 kW (3,050 ehp) Rolls-Royce Dart RDa.10/1 being selected for the new aircraft.

Electronic equipment, avionics, mechanical and fuselage components were supplied either by Japanese companies or foreign suppliers during the YS-11’s production lifetime. The twin-engined YS-11 delivered similar operational performance to the four-engined Vickers Viscount, and had 50% more capacity than the similarly configured Fokker F27 Friendship.