The Japanese government’s ambitious plan to launch a new commercial aircraft capable of competing for orders with Airbus and Boeing is viewed with skepticism by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
The group, one of the largest in the country, is still recovering from the billion-dollar loss with the SpaceJet program, which ended in 2023 after years of development and seven test aircraft built.
In a meeting with shareholders, the senior vice president of commercial aviation, Hiroyuki Koguchi, stated that “we’re now in a phase to lay the groundwork for that, and not in the timing to decide on whether to resume the aircraft assembly business,” according to Reuters.
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Koguchi justified Mitsubishi’s position in light of the Japanese Ministry of Industry’s plan to carry out a public-private project valued at US$25 billion to place an advanced technology aircraft on the air travel market around 2035.
According to the executive, the company is now using its human and technological resources for other aerospace and environmental businesses.
Unforeseen events
The SpaceJet program, born as MRJ (Mitsubishi Regional Jet), emerged in 2003 with support from the Japanese government with the goal of producing a family of regional jets with a capacity between 70 and 90 seats.
The official launch took place in 2008 with a plan to enter service in 2012. The MRJ would have the MRJ70 (up to 80 seats) and MRJ90 (86 to 96 seats) versions and would be equipped with modern PW1000G turbofans from Pratt & Whitney.
The inaugural flight took place in November 2015, when entry into service was already pushed to 2018.
Mitsubishi built several test aircraft, however, the unexpected complexity of the certification process led the company to create a unit in the United States, to be close to the FAA, the US civil aviation agency.
Aircraft dismantled
Despite receiving substantial orders, the program suffered repeated delays and a strategic change in 2019, when Mitsubishi renamed it SpaceJet.
The biggest news was the launch of the M70, an aircraft that would be built to meet the scope clauses of US airlines and thus compete with the Embraer E175.
With no prospects of obtaining type certification and amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Mitsubishi paused the program in 2020, after huge losses.
Little by little, the SpaceJet was dismantled, including the prototypes, until in 2023 the company announced the end of the program.