In 2015, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was still making aviation history when the MSJ took off on its maiden flight as the first commercial jet developed in Japan.
(Photo: dpa)
Tokyo The Japanese actually wanted to conquer the world market with the 90-seater regional jet “Mitsubishi Space Jet” (MSJ). But this Tuesday, Seiji Izumisawa, CEO of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), hired the hopeful without replacement 15 years after the start of development.
In 2015, the Japanese heavy industry group was still writing aviation history. In front of the cameras, the MSJ took off on its maiden flight as the first commercial jet developed and built in Japan.
Many had high expectations of the project, Izumisawa explained at the balance sheet press conference for the third quarter. It is very unfortunate that the company made the decision to end development.
The manager gave the reason: “We didn’t have enough resources to continue the development as a private-sector project in the long term.” In the end, MHI had invested around one trillion yen (seven billion euros) and still had no prospect of a profitable business.
Japan AG’s dream of the first Japanese passenger aircraft since the YC-11 propeller plane in 1962 is over. The jet is not Mitsubishi’s, but Japan’s jet, emphasized the group’s former vice president, Hiromichi Morimoto, on the maiden flight.
With it, the Japanese wanted to make the leap from an important supplier for global aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing and licensed manufacturers of American fighter jets to a fully fledged location for the aviation industry.
The government dug deep into its pockets to give the historic project a start-up aid. She contributed almost 400 million euros to the MHI subsidiary Mitsubishi Aircraft, which is now also being wound up. Other companies also participated in the pilot project, including Japan’s development bank and seven large trading houses and corporations.
The Japanese industrial group had invested around one trillion yen (seven billion euros) in the regional jet and still has no prospect of profitable business.
(Photo: Reuters)
Even the car manufacturer Toyota took part. After all, the planned production facility of the supposed pride of Japan AG was in Nagoya and thus in Toyota’s home prefecture of Aichi. “Nice, hyper-modern aerodynamic performance” promised the website of the aircraft subsidiary on Tuesday. But the advertising cannot hide the fact that the development of the MSJ never went according to plan.
Japan’s airliner: The costs kept rising
MHI once reported 450 orders, and the first model was originally supposed to be delivered in 2013. But the maiden flight was repeatedly delayed, and the costs kept rising. MHI lacked the know-how to quickly obtain the flight permit in the United States, the CEO said on Tuesday.
The final blow to the project was the outbreak of the corona pandemic in 2020, which almost brought air traffic to a standstill worldwide. MHI froze the project in the tacit hope of being able to salvage it later.
But the aircraft market did not recover across the board. Even before the corona crisis, business with regional aircraft for 50 to 100 passengers was weakening. The Japanese still do not see stable demand. The good news for the shareholders: the costs for the project have already been largely written off.
It is now up to the car manufacturer Honda to keep the development of civil aviation alive in Japan with its small Honda Jet. The group has sold more than 200 of the maximum eight-seater business jet since it was launched in 2015.
MHI intends to increasingly use its aircraft technology for military purposes in the future. In December 2022, Japan announced that it would develop a new combat aircraft together with Great Britain and Italy by 2035. The Japanese promoter is MHI.
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