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51-470: During November 1981, Kawasaki was selected as the main contractor to design and manufacture a suitable trainer aircraft, which was initially designated as the KA-850 , to meet the needs of Japan's MT-X program, having beaten out rival bids from Mitsubishi and Fuji . The MT-X program had been launched to procure a replacement for the aging Lockheed T-33 and Fuji T-1 jet trainer aircraft then in service in

102-456: A business district. Hisaya was succeeded by his cousin Koyata in 1916, and during his time as president the group saw a significant expansion. In 1917, he funded the establishment of an optics company and became the majority shareholder, which later became Nikon . During this era, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was at the forefront of Japan's aircraft development. He reorganised the group into

153-453: A clean configuration. It is furnished with a thick-section transonic aerofoil , which was developed by Kawasaki and Japan's Technical Research and Development Institute (TRDI) to provide outstanding high- angle-of-attack handling and favourable spin characteristics. An unusual aerodynamic feature present on the T-4 is the compact leading-edge root extensions (LERX) just forward of its wings along

204-569: A consortium consisting of Mitsubishi, Fuji, and Kawasaki, the latter providing leadership over the venture. A final assembly line for the type was established at Kawasaki's plant in Gifu ; this line was sized to produce a maximum of two and a half aircraft per month. Originally, an eight-year production run was planned for. In 2021, the Government of Japan launched a study on potential replacement of T-4s. In 2024, Japan's Manichi newspaper published

255-464: A form similar to what it is now, and he spun off each department into a subsidiary. Most of them later went public, as he thought that for the sake of the expansion of business, more core capital was needed. The group was organised as follows: The firm's prime real estate holdings in the Marunouchi district of Tokyo, acquired in 1890, were spun off in 1937 to form Mitsubishi Estate , now one of

306-718: A news about Japan's government seeking for the new training jet to replace T-4s in JASDF service, which could be the Boeing–Saab T-7 Red Hawk . Japan's Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) are also looking for a replacement for Fuji T-7 fleet. The Kawasaki T-4 is a Japanese subsonic intermediate jet trainer aircraft. It is a twin-engined aircraft, being powered by pair of Ishikawajima-Harima -built F3-IHI-30 turbofan units. These engines, which were capable of generating up to 15.7 kN (3,520 lbf) of thrust, were indigenously-developed in conjunction with

357-399: A relatively-low operating cost, and high reliability levels. Easy handling was also required so that trainees could convert from the piston-engined Fuji T-3 after accumulating only 70 flying hours. Furthermore, the economics for operating the type was to be comparable to the leading international competitors at that time. The design had to incorporate other political desires as well; there

408-477: A total lifespan of 7,500 flight hours. Out of these efforts emerged the T-4, a clean-sheet indigenously-developed trainer aircraft. According to aerospace publication Flight International , it was considered plausible for the T-4 to have been a competitive product upon the global trainer aircraft market if it had been priced appropriately, but such export opportunities were denied by a long-standing Japanese policy that forbids any military export sales. As such, there

459-744: Is a low bypass turbofan engine developed in Japan by Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries for the Kawasaki T-4 jet trainer aircraft . The first prototype engine, the XF3, was manufactured in 1981 and first flew in the XT-4 in July 1985. About 550 have been built. Ishikawajima-Harima began developing a small turbofan engine in the late 1970s as a competitor for the new jet trainer aircraft being developed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries . The developmental engine

510-581: Is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu , a unified company that existed from 1870 to 1946. The company, along with other major zaibatsu, was disbanded during the occupation of Japan following World War II by the order of the Allies . Despite

561-759: Is an unusual choice for a trainer aircraft and had required considerable effort to adapt it for use aboard the T-4. A British -sourced artificial feel system is also used by the type, the components for which being locally manufactured. Fighter units of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force are equipped with T-4s as trainer/liaison aircraft. Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1988–89 General characteristics Performance Armament Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Mitsubishi The Mitsubishi Group ( 三菱グループ , Mitsubishi Gurūpu )

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612-405: Is the inclusion of an afterburner . Adding the afterburner is the primary reason why the maximum thrust of the -400 is much higher than the -30. Other changes included compressor and turbine blades that were aerodynamically optimized using 3D computational fluid dynamics techniques, and improved temperature performance in the high-pressure turbine. A 1998 report revealed that thrust vectoring

663-840: The Cold War made the Eastern Bloc more menacing than the possible revival of a strong Japan and Germany , the occupation forces’ initial aim, just like in Germany, was to weaken the Japanese economy so that the country could never wage war against them. Under this policy, Mitsubishi as a group was dissolved. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Chemical were split into three separate entities. On his deathbed, Koyata Iwasaki staunchly defended his actions, asserting that he had done his utmost for his country and had nothing to be ashamed of. Despite his resistance, he could not defy

714-572: The F3-IHI-30C . Soon after IHI began working on the XF-3, they began developing a more powerful variant of the engine as a technology demonstrator for a theoretical supersonic fighter . This engine was designated the XF3-400. It was designed to be a higher performance, afterburning version of the XF-3, producing around 7,600 lbf (34 kN) of thrust. One distinctive quality of this engine

765-562: The Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF). Furthermore, there was also a desire for the prospective trainer aircraft to take over some of the syllabus that was being handled by the contemporary Mitsubishi T-2 , a supersonic trainer and basis of the Mitsubishi F-1 fighter aircraft. The initial program planned for a production run of 220 aircraft and an entry into service date of 1988. Kawasaki's design team

816-572: The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle , an agile aerial supremacy fighter. Speaking in the months before the XT-4's maiden flight, Kawaski publicly claimed that the aircraft possessed the highest performance of any subsonic trainer aircraft then available. Despite the limited availability of the F3-IHI-30 engine, it proved to be reliable, preventing any serious limitation being imposed on the wider test programme. Flight testing with

867-473: The Japanese distribution representative. Three of the group companies are informally known as the "Three Great Houses" ( 御三家 , Gosanke ) and hold a separate coordinating meeting prior to each Friday Conference: Ten other "major" group companies participate in the coordinating meeting on a rotating basis (with six of the ten companies participating in any given month): Ishikawajima-Harima F3 The Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries (IHI) F3

918-504: The Mitsubishi companies combined generate 7.7% of the total revenue of all publicly traded companies in Japan, and the group's assets amount to 433 trillion yen. The Mitsubishi company was established as a shipping firm by Iwasaki Yatarō (1834–1885) in 1870 under the name "Tsukumo Shokai" ( 九十九商会 ) . In 1873, its name was changed to Mitsubishi Shokai ; Mitsubishi ( 三菱 ) consists of two parts: " mitsu " (三) meaning "three" (as in

969-578: The T-4. Flight International observed that the performance of the T-4 was comparable with several widely exported jet trainers, such as the Franco-German Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet and British BAE Systems Hawk . Specifically, the T-4 possessed a lower wing loading and 20 per cent greater thrust-to-weight ratio than either of these aircraft, easily permitting an initial climb to altitude rate of 3,000 m (10,000 ft) per minute. While no combat-orientated model of

1020-469: The XT-4 aircraft in 1985. Production of the qualified engine also began in 1985. After the engine and aircraft were in production there were several incidents where one or two of the high pressure turbine blades failed, forcing the aircraft to make emergency landings. An investigation revealed that the turbine section was suffering from a vibration resonance problem, leading to the turbine blade failures. The blades were strengthened and modified to dampen

1071-488: The aircraft has been developed to date, the standard T-4 features three hard points , enabling the installation of various air-to-air missiles , bombs , and a gun pod . The T-4 has a sturdy, damage-tolerant airframe that is largely composed of conventional aluminium alloys , although some composite materials are also present in some areas. Its structure has sufficient strength to enable high- g manoeuvres, being rated to perform instantaneous dives of 7.33g when flown in

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1122-480: The chairpersons and presidents of major Mitsubishi companies. By 1964, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries also remerged. The Friday Club symbolised the formation of an equal group of companies, rather than the revival of the pre-war Mitsubishi zaibatsu with Mitsubishi Headquarters at the apex. In 1970, Mitsubishi companies established the Mitsubishi Foundation to commemorate the centennial anniversary of

1173-617: The country had decided to wage a war with the United States and the British Empire , each member of the company ought to serve the country in fulfilling its only goal, but the company should not forget what it owed to people in these countries. Arguably, one of the most tangible ways in which Mitsubishi was involved in the war was through its supply of ships, aircraft and other arms by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter, designed by Dr. Jiro Horikoshi

1224-632: The dissolution, the former constituent companies continue to share the Mitsubishi brand and trademark . While the group of companies engages in limited business cooperation, most notably through monthly “Friday Conference” executive meetings, they remain formally independent and are not under common control. The three main entities ( gosanke ) are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (the largest bank in Japan), Mitsubishi Corporation (a general trading company), and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (diversified manufacturing companies). A 2020 estimate concluded that all

1275-512: The forward fuselage, these generate additional vortex lift and enhance the aircraft's high-g departure tendencies, such as the suppression of wing-drop and pitch-up during aerodynamic stalls . The use of LERX avoided any need for vortex generators. The avionics of the T-4 are digital in nature; this approach was chosen in order to reduce both the size and weight of the avionics while also increasing their reliability. Typically, these systems and components have been indigenously produced, albeit with

1326-471: The founding of the first Mitsubishi company. The companies also individually maintain charitable foundations. Mitsubishi pavilions have been highlights of expositions in Japan since EXPO'70 in Osaka in the 1970s to 1980s. The Mitsubishi Group is made up of about 40 individual companies without a controlling parent company. Each of the Mitsubishi companies owns substantial (but usually not controlling) portions of

1377-485: The four XT-4 prototypes ended after two and a half years and roughly 500 individual flights made; in response to the feedback produced, only minor changes, such as improved brakes and refinements of the hydraulically actuated flight control system , were made. On 28 June 1988, the first production T-4 conducted its first flight; deliveries to the JASDF began in September of that year. It was observed by Kawasaki that

1428-431: The incorporation of some base technologies from several American industries; examples of this include the inertial guidance system, which uses Honeywell -built ring laser gyroscopes , while the air data computer uses Sperry -supplied transducers . The majority of onboard systems are of a conventional nature; however, according to Flight International, the use of a licensed onboard oxygen generation system (OBOGS)

1479-670: The largest real estate development companies in Japan. During the Second World War , which was often advertised in government propaganda as a total war, Mitsubishi was a key player in the nation's wartime economy. Educated in England and having many business friends and partners in the Anglosphere , Koyata was opposed to fighting a war against the Allies. However, he famously stated in his speech on 10 December 1941 that once

1530-484: The low-pressure turbine, the production F3 does not. The two-stage fan uses wide chord blades, and both the production F3 and the advanced XF3-400 use the same fan. Unlike the fan, the five-stage compressor differs between the F3 and the XF3-400, with the advanced XF3-400 benefiting from 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) improvements. The high-pressure turbine blades are single-crystal blades, and they are cooled by

1581-482: The market capitalisation of the company was significantly less than its real estate holdings. They greenmailed , and other Mitsubishi companies had to buy the shares from them at an unjustly high price. This incident accelerated Mitsubishi's reintegration. In 1954, Mitsubishi Corporation was reformed, and the Mitsubishi Friday Club was established to foster camaraderie and information exchange among

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1632-496: The mid-2000s. In addition to the Friday Conference, the group companies' heads of general affairs hold a meeting on the third Monday of each month, and the group companies' legal and IP departments hold a trademark policy coordination meeting on the first Friday of each month. The company briefly dabbled in television during the early 1990s, when it inked a deal with Westinghouse Broadcasting International to become

1683-569: The operation of shipbuilding were used to expand the business further into the manufacture of aircraft and equipment. The experience of overseas shipping led the firm to enter into a trading business. In 1881, the company bought into coal mining by acquiring the Takashima Mine, followed by Hashima Island in 1890, using the production to fuel their extensive steamship fleet. They also diversified into shipbuilding, banking , insurance , warehousing, and trade. Later diversification carried

1734-479: The organization into such sectors as paper , steel , glass , electrical equipment, aircraft , oil , and real estate . As Mitsubishi built a broadly based conglomerate , it played a central role in the modernization of Japanese industry. In 1894, Hisaya Iwasaki succeeded his uncle Yanosuke as president. During his tenure until 1916, he modernised the Nagasaki Shipyard and developed Marunouchi as

1785-482: The programme had not only been delivered as per schedule, but both the aircraft and its Ishikawajima-Harima F3-IHI-30 powerplant had attained their respective cost targets; Flight International contrasted the T-4 against the American Fairchild T-46 , a cancelled jet trainer which had cost five times as much as Kawasaki's offering without reaching production. Manufacture of the T-4 was performed by

1836-412: The shares of the others. Twenty-nine of the group companies participate in the Friday Conference ( 金曜会 , Kinyō-kai ) , a luncheon meeting of their most senior executives held on the second Friday of each month. The group began its tradition of monthly executive meetings in 1952, and over time the meetings became a venue for coordinating policy between the group companies. By the 1990s, this practice

1887-578: The three oak leaves from the crest of the Yamauchi or Tosa family that ruled over Yatarō's birthplace and employed him) and " hishi " (菱, which becomes " bishi " under rendaku ) meaning " water caltrop ", and hence " rhombus ", which is reflected in the company's logo . It is also translated as "three diamonds". Mitsubishi was established in 1870, two years after the Meiji Restoration , with shipping as its core business. Its diversification

1938-632: The tide of the times. His cousin, Hisaya Iwasaki , president of Mitsubishi Partnership Company at the time, expressed his frustration with the situation, noting that the company had been stripped bare, leaving only his ancestral land in Tosa and a mausoleum in Tokyo. His main residence in Shitaya was requisitioned by the American military, and Hisaya had to temporarily rent rooms in his former house. Due to

1989-411: The trainer; in order to achieve this, it was decided to make limited use of composite materials in the form of carbon fiber and kevlar in areas such as the radome and elements of the rear wing, tail unit, and undercarriage. Extensive use of computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) techniques was also applied. These advances contributed to the design being certified for

2040-464: The vibrations. The engine, and the aircraft, returned to service in 1990. Beginning in 1999, IHI began upgrading the fielded engines with a new high-pressure turbine to increase their service life. This variant of the engine was known as the F3-IHI-30B . In 2003, IHI began updating the engine with a more advanced Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC). This updated engine was designated

2091-631: The war. In 2015, Mitsubishi Materials (formerly Mitsubishi Mining) compensated 3,765 Chinese labourers who were conscripted to the company during the war and apologised to ex-American prisoners of war. Mitsubishi was involved in the opium trade in China during this period. After the Second World War, under the Allied Occupation's policy to dissolve zaibatsu , the Mitsubishi conglomerate underwent significant restructuring. Until

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2142-603: The zaibatsu dissolution, Mitsubishi Estate was split into two companies, Kanto Real Estate and Yowa Real Estate. Yowa Real Estate owned a significant portion of the land between the Imperial Palace and Tokyo Station , including the Marunouchi Building . In 1952, an incident occurred where two men, Kuniichiro Fujiami and Shomitsu Tajima, who were closely linked to infamous yakuza , attempted to take over Yowa Real Estate by becoming majority shareholders, as

2193-500: Was a great value placed upon powering the type with the first all-Japanese production turbofan engine, the Ishikawajima-Harima F3-IHI-30 . Reportedly, the selection of a twin-engine configuration for the trainer was one of the easiest decisions taken, being made not just for engine power but from a high priority being placed upon safety. A robust, damage-tolerant and long-lived structure was also specified for

2244-453: Was also being integrated into the XF3-400. The F3 is a two-shaft (or two spool) low-bypass turbofan . It features a two-stage fan (low-pressure compressor) on the low-pressure shaft, followed by a five-stage high-pressure compressor on the high-pressure shaft. The engine uses an annular combustor , which feeds a single-stage high-pressure turbine followed by a single-stage low-pressure turbine. The XF3-400 variant includes an afterburner after

2295-432: Was criticized (particularly by non-Japanese investors) as a possible violation of antitrust law . Since 1993, the Friday Conference has officially been held as a social function, and not for the purpose of discussing or coordinating business strategy. Despite this, the Friday Conference has been a venue for informal cooperation and coordination between the group companies, most notably in bailing out Mitsubishi Motors during

2346-413: Was headed by the aeronautics engineer Kohki Isozaki, as well as working in close conjunction with planners at the Japanese defense agency. The design produced by Kawasaki had to satisfy aspects of the JASDF's training regime that was previously performed by multiple aircraft. As such, the type had to demonstrate a range of transonic aerodynamic effects, as well as achieving a high level of manoeuvrability,

2397-400: Was mostly into related fields. It entered into coal-mining to gain the coal needed for ships, bought a shipbuilding yard from the government to repair the ships it used, founded an iron mill to supply iron to the shipbuilding yard, started a marine insurance business to cater for its shipping business, and so forth. Later, the managerial resources and technological capabilities acquired through

2448-706: Was named the XF3, and it was selected over the SNECMA Turbomeca Larzac in 1982 to power the XT-4 trainer. The early developmental models of the engine produced 2,600 pounds-force (12 kN) of thrust , but later models (including the model selected for the XT-4) produced 3,600 lbf (16 kN) of thrust. The production engine was designated the F3-30 (alternatively, the F3-IHI-30), and it first flew in

2499-478: Was no realistic prospect of the type being sold to overseas customers and it was developed for the onset with the understanding that the T-4 would be used only by the JASDF. On 29 July 1985, the prototype for the type, designated as the XT-4 , performed its maiden flight . Reportedly, test pilots of the Air Proving Wing who flew the XT-4 observed the type to have greater subsonic manoeuvrability than

2550-412: Was that it was to have a thrust-to-weight ratio of 7:1, higher than any similarly sized engine. Work on this engine began in earnest in 1986, and a demonstrator engine was built and tested in 1987. IHI was formally awarded a contract for the engine in 1992, after spending the previous years developing and testing the engine internally. The primary difference between the XF3-400 and the standard F3-30

2601-541: Was the primary fighter of the Imperial Navy . Production of these equipments made Mistubishi factories one of the main targets for allies attack, and in one factory the death toll among its workers amounted to 494 in just a week. Mitsubishi Mining was involved in the forced labour of Allied prisoners of war and people from Japan's colonies and occupied territories such as Korea and parts of China. The company's Iizuka mine counted 19 deaths of Chinese labourers during

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