 | |
| Company type | Division |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace manufacturing |
| Founded | 1918 |
| Headquarters | Minato, Tokyo, Japan |
| Products | Aircraft, Space systems, Simulators, Jet engines, Missiles, Electronic equipment |
| Website | global |
Kawasaki Heavy Industries Aerospace Company (川崎重工業航空宇宙カンパニー, Kawasaki Jūkōgyō Kōkūuchū Kanpanii) is the aerospace division of Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI). It produces aircraft, space systems, simulators, jet engines, missiles, and electronic equipment.
During the 1930s and 1940s, Kawasaki Aircraft Industries developed numerous types of aircraft for the Imperial Japanese Army, such as the Type 88 reconnaissance aircraft, the Ki-48 Sokei bomber, and the Ka 61 Hien fighter, up until the end of the Second World War. Shortly after the occupation of Japan started in 1945, Japan's aviation industry was intentionally dismantled and aircraft factories converted for other purposes; the ban on aircraft development was lifted during March 1954, allowing for the nation's aviation industry to be revived. During 1969, Kawasaki Kokuki Kogyo KK was restructured as a formal subsidiary of KHI.
Throughout the postwar era, the company has produced numerous aircraft under license from various overseas manufacturers for Japan Air Self-Defense Force and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces, alongside its own designs. Licensed aircraft have included the P-2J (derived from the Lockheed P-2 Neptune), KH-4 helicopters (derived from the Bell 47), Kawasaki KV-107 helicopters (derived from the Boeing Vertol 107 Model II), and CH-47J / JA heavy-lift helicopters. Indigenously developed aircraft of the postwar era have included the Kawasaki C-1 and Kawasaki C-2 military transports, the Kawasaki KAT-1 and Kawasaki T-4 trainer aircraft, the Kawasaki OH-1 reconnaissance helicopter, and the Kawasaki P-1 maritime patrol aircraft.