Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) and Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. hosted on Oct. 18 a rollout ceremony for the MRJ (Mitsubishi Regional Jet), anext-generation regional jet, at the Komaki Minami Plant of MHI's Nagoya (Japan) Aerospace Systems Works in Aichi Prefecture. After unveiling Japan's first jet aircraft, MHI and Mitsubishi Aircraft are now ready to proceed toward the MRJ's first flight scheduled for April-June 2015. Delivery is expected in 2017.
The rollout ceremony was attended by numerous distinguished guests, including Akihiro Nishimura, State Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT); Hideki Niwa, State Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT); Atsuo Kuroda, Director-General, Manufacturing Industries Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Shinichiro Ito, president and CEO of ANA Holdings Inc., the launch customer. From MHI and Mitsubishi Aircraft, respectively, chairman Hideaki Omiya and president and COO Teruaki Kawai, as well as executives of the two companies, were present.
In welcoming his guests, Omiya spoke of his pride on the occasion: "A product 'made in Japan' – a product offering the highest levels of both operating economy and cabin comfort – is at long last about to leave the realm of dreams and become a reality. It's with utmost confidence and pride that we will soon be sending the MRJ out into the world."
Mitsubishi Regional Jet is a family of 70-90-seat next-generation aircraft featuring the Pratt & Whitney's PurePower engine.
See link at right for information about composites use in the MRJ.