Japan assembles superteam of aircraft component manufacturers to build supersonic passenger plane
The new organisation, Japan Supersonic Research (JSR), quietly signed itself into existence on March 31st. Yesterday, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced that it is a member, alongside Japan Aircraft Development Association, Japan Aerospace Exploration Association, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries), IHI Corporation, and Subaru.
Japan’s aerospace industry currently focuses on manufacturing components for aircrafts and engines, including wings and fuselages. Mitsubishi recently hangared plans to build its own mid-size passenger jet. Another more successful exception is Subaru’s joint manufacturing deal for the Bell 412 helicopter, sold locally in modified versions called the Subaru Bell 412EPX and XUH-2.
JAXA’s contribution to JSR includes a decade worth of sonic boom research. The space agency already has an aircraft design with a nose much more pointed and needle-esque than the bird-like hook nose that Concorde used to improve pilot visibility during takeoff and landing. At one point, a JAXA aviation director claimed the noise pollution from its supersonic aircraft’s takeoffs and landings would be half of that from the Concorde.
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