Japan to produce mid-range jetliner

By HIROSHI YAMAZAKI
UPI Correspondent

Published: September 04, 2008

Executives of Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation, including its president, Nobuo Toda, Junichi Miyagawa (L) and Yousuke Takigawa (R), stand with miniature model of Japan's first medium-distance jetliner, the Mitsubishi Regional Jet, at a press conference in Tokyo, Japan, on Sept. 4, 2008. (UPI Photo/Keizo Mori)

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Tokyo, Japan — Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation is about to open a new chapter in Japan's aviation history with its development of the Mitsubishi Regional Jet, Japan's first locally made jetliner in over 30 years, the company announced Thursday in Tokyo.

The lightweight MRJ will be built for short-to-medium distances, capable of flying up to 3,600 kilometers (about 2,200 miles). It will hold 70 to 96 seats, and is designed to consume 20 percent less fuel than similar aircraft, Mitsubishi said.

The jet is expected to be airborne by 2011 and the first orders delivered in 2013.

Before World War II Japan had excellent aviation technology installed in its various fighter planes, most notably the infamous Zero fighters that threatened U.S. airplanes and warships. After the war, however, the Allied occupation authorities confiscated all aircraft designs and other materials, prohibiting the country from further pursuit of aircraft manufacturing.

It was in 1962, ten years after Japan regained its sovereignty, that a Japanese consortium produced the country’s first commercial airliner, the YS-11. But after a decade of struggles to keep it in the air, the government and the manufacturers gave up the scheme – although a handful of these passenger planes still remain in service with small airlines in places such as the Philippines and Thailand.

Now the MRJ is to turn all this around. Mitsubishi claims that the aircraft’s fuel efficiency, low noise and comfortable interior and seating will make it the top of the line in its category.

Nobuo Toda, president of Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation, also announced Thursday that the company had concluded a support contract with the Boeing Company of the United States, which will offer consulting services on aircraft development, marketing and customer support.

"The agreement with Boeing is based on long years of partnership," Toda said. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, part of the Mitsubishi consortium, has been collaborating on Boeing's aircraft production for many years, including the 747, 767, 777 and 787 jetliners. MHI produced the main wings for the Boeing 787.

MHI is also responsible for developing primary rocket engines for the H-IIA, Japan's satellite rocket under the national space program.

Last December engineers involved in the MRJ project were shocked when China’s ACAC Consortium displayed its first locally made jetliner, the ARJ-21, with basically similar capacity. The Chinese aircraft is expected to be available in September, 2009.