Genesis and early years was one of Japan's first aircraft companies. It was founded during 1918 as a subsidiary of the heavy-industrial conglomerate
Kawasaki Heavy Industries in
Kobe. Prior to the conclusion of the
Second World War, Kawasaki mostly supplied aircraft and aircraft engines to the
Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF). During the early 1930s, Kawasaki built
Salmson biplanes and engines
under license, and also developed a number of its own designs. Kawasaki hired the noted German
Aerospace engineer and designer, Dr.
Richard Vogt, from 1923 to 1933 to assist with design work and to train Japanese engineers. Among Vogt's pupils was
Takeo Doi, the future chief designer for Kawasaki. Vogt later went on to become chief designer for German industrial corporation
Blohm & Voss. Kawasaki obtained a license from
Dornier for all-metal construction
flying boats, and the Kawasaki-Dornier
Wal made a notable flight in December 1924; however, Kawasaki thereafter specialized in land planes. Noted designs include the:
Company designations •
KDA-2 – company designation for the Type 88 reconnaissance aircraft •
KDA-3 – single-seat parasol fighter prototype (1928); lost to the Nakajima NC •
KDA-5 – company designation for the Type 92 fighter •
KDA-6 – prototype reconnaissance aircraft •
KDA-7 – company designation for the Ki-3 •
KDC-2 – mail plane/passenger transport developed from the Type 88 •
KDC-5 – company designation for the C-5
Army designations •
Type Otsu-1 Reconnaissance Aircraft – reconnaissance biplane; Salmson 2A.2 built under license •
Ka 87 – twin-engine heavy bomber; Japanese-built Dornier Do N (1926) •
Type 88 – single-engine reconnaissance biplane (1927) •
Type 92 – single-seat biplane fighter (1930) •
Ki-3 – single-engine biplane bomber; last IJAAF biplane bomber design (1933) •
Ki-5 – experimental single-engine monoplane fighter (1934) •
Ki-10 – single-seat biplane fighter; last IJAAF biplane fighter (1935) •
Ki-22 – heavy bomber (not built) •
Ki-28 – single-engine experimental fighter (1936); cancelled in favor of the Nakajima Ki-27 •
Ki-32 – single-engine monoplane bomber (1937) •
Ki-38 – proposed twin-engine fighter, predecessor of Ki-45 (1937) •
Ki-45 Toryu (屠龍, Dragon Slayer)- twin-engine fighter (1939) •
Ki-48 – twin-engine light bomber (1939) •
Ki-56 – twin-engine light transport, developed from the Lockheed Model 14 Electra (1940) •
Ki-60 – experimental single-engine fighter (1941) •
Ki-61 Hien (飛燕, Flying Swallow) – single-seat fighter (1941) •
Ki-64 – experimental single-seat heavy fighter (1943) •
Ki-66 – prototype dive bomber based on the Ki-48 •
Ki-78 – high-speed research aircraft (1942) •
Ki-81 – proposed multi-seat escort fighter based on the Ki-48 (not built) •
Ki-85 – proposed IJA bomber version of Nakajima G5N (not built) •
Ki-88 – proposed single-seat fighter (not built) •
Ki-89 – experimental bomber (not built) •
Ki-91 – prototype four-engine heavy bomber (1944) •
Ki-96 – experimental twin-engine heavy fighter (1941) •
Ki-100 – radial-engine fighter/interceptor (1944) •
Ki-102 – twin-engine long-range heavy fighter (1944) •
Ki-108 – high-altitude fighter version of Ki-102 •
Ki-119 – single-engine light bomber (not built) •
Ki-147 – radio-guided air to surface missile •
Ki-148 – radio-guided air-to-surface missile (1944) •
Ki-174 – single-seat special attack version of Ki-48 (not built)
Civil aircraft •
A-6 – civil version of KDA-6 •
C-5 – high-speed, long-range communications aircraft (1934)
Engines •
Ha9 – BMW VI built under license •
Ha40 – Daimler-Benz DB 601Aa built under license, later known as the Ha-60; used in the Ki-61 •
Ha140 – higher-power version of Ha40; used in the Ki-61-II •
Ha201 – two Ha40s coupled together with a common gearbox, later known as the Ha-72; used in the Ki-64
Post-war development YS-11M During the
occupation of Japan after the end of the
Second World War, all of Japan's aerospace industry was dismantled, designs destroyed and plants converted to other uses. Japan would become free of military occupation, and shortly after many American imposed bans were lifted, the ban on aircraft development was lifted during March 1954, a new company was founded by the merger of subsidiary companies
K.K. Kawasaki Gifu Seisakusho and
Kawasaki Kikai Kogyo K.K., retaining the name of the pre-war
Kawasaki Kokuki Kogyo KK. The Kawasaki
KAL-1, first flown in July 1953, was the first postwar all-metal aircraft of Japanese design. Early production activity at the company included 210
Lockheed T-33 jet trainers, 48
Lockheed P-2H Neptune
maritime patrol aircraft and 239
Bell 47 helicopters, all under license from the United States. In response to encouragement from the Japanese government, during 1957, Kawasaki joined in a
joint venture, participating along with various other Japanese aerospace companies, including
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries,
Fuji Heavy Industries,
Shin Meiwa, Showa Aircraft Industry Company and Japan Aircraft Industry Company in the development and manufacturing what would become the
NAMC YS-11, an indigenously developed twin-
turboprop airliner. Kawasaki provided both personnel and infrastructure for the venture, manufacturing various components of the YS-11. During April 1969,
Kawasaki Kokuki K.K. was dissolved, its assets being restructured as a division of the reorganized
Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI).
Under Kawasaki Heavy Industries CH-47J During April 1969, the former
Kawasaki Kokuki K.K. was dissolved and became a division of the reorganized Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI). Kawasaki is a major contractor for the
Japanese Ministry of Defense. Although in November 1970, Kawasaki completed Japan's first domestically designed twin turbofan military transport, the
C-1, the company concentrated primarily on licensed production of derivatives of American patrol aircraft and helicopters through the 1990s. Kawasaki built 82
P-2Js (derived from the
Lockheed P-2 Neptune), 211
KH-4 helicopters (derived from the
Bell 47), 160
Kawasaki KV-107 helicopters (derived from the
Boeing Vertol 107 Model II), and
Hughes/McDonnell Douglas Model 500D and
OH-6DA helicopters. Kawasaki also built 101
P-3C antisubmarine warfare patrol airplanes plus four EP-3/UP-3D electronic intelligence/training variants, and 68
CH-47J / JA. On 25 February 1977, Kawasaki and German aerospace manufacturer
Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) signed an agreement to cooperate on the development of a new rotorcraft; under the terms of this agreement, the two corporations merged their previously separate projects to produce twin-engined general purpose helicopters, these being the
Bo 107 by MBB and the
KH-7 from Kawasaki. Separate elements were assigned to each company; MBB were responsible for developing the
rotors (these were based on the rigid rotor system previously used on MBB's
Bo 105), tailboom,
flight controls and
hydraulic system while Kawasaki undertook the development of the
landing gear,
airframe, main transmission, electrical system and other minor components. of the JASDF During the 1970s and 1980s, Kawasaki developed an indigenous intermediate jet trainer and liaison aircraft, the
T-4. Manufacture was performed by a consortium consisting of Mitsubishi, Fuji, and Kawasaki, the latter providing leadership over the venture. The final assembly line for the type was established at Kawasaki's plant in
Gifu, capable of producing a maximum of two and a half aircraft per month. In addition to economic and performance consideration, the T-4's design had to incorporate political desires as well; significant emphasis had been placed upon powering it with the first all-Japanese production
turbofan engine, the
Ishikawajima-Harima F3-IHI-30. 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, but such opportunities were denied by a long-standing Japanese policy that forbid military export sales. On 18 September 1992, Kawasaki was appointed by the Ministry of Defense to produce the
OH-1, an indigenously designed armed observation and light
attack helicopter. It was responsible for manufacturing 50 per cent of the airframe, as well as coordinating development of its rotor system; the remaining airframe elements were manufactured by Mitsubishi and Fuji. During June 1998, after finalising a production contract and receipt of an initial order earlier that year, series production of the OH-1 officially commenced. By the late 1990s, the JGSDF had announced that its plans to eventually procure between 150 and an attack-oriented version tentatively designated as the
AH-2. During the 2000s, the company developed two closely related multi-engine fixed-wing aircraft, the
XP-1 maritime patrol airplane and the
XC-2 transport aircraft. Kawasaki was appointed as the prime contractor for both programmes during 2001, its launch occurred almost 30 years after the previous large-scale domestic development of an aircraft in Japan. The JDA mandated that the two aircraft share identical body components; On 30 June 2016, the C-2 airlifter formally entered service with the
Japan Air Self-Defense Force. Kawasaki produced the
AgustaWestland AW101, a tri-engined medium-lift helicopter, under license from
Anglo-
Italian helicopter manufacturer
AgustaWestland. During 2002, the company, along with AgustaWestland and
Marubeni, formalised an agreement to cooperate on the AW101's production in Japan; Kawasaki began the assembly of both the CH-101 and the MCH-101 models in 2003. Kawasaki also began licensed production of its RTM322 engines during 2005. A specialised mine sweeping and transport model, designated as
MCH-101 by the
Japan Defense Agency, was produced for the
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. Special features include the automated folding of the rotor and tail. For the
mine-hunting role, the MCH-101 has been outfitted with
Northrop Grumman's
AQS-24A airborne mine-hunting system and
AN/AES-1 Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS) for a complete surface-to-bottom mine detection capability, as well as Mk-104 acoustic mine sweeping gear. In the commercial aviation business, KHI has been involved in the joint international development and production of multiple large passenger aircraft. It is involved in joint development and production of the
Boeing 767 and
Boeing 777 with
The Boeing Company, and the
170, 175, 190 and 195 jets with
Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica (Embraer). The company is also involved in the joint international development and production of
turbofan engines for passenger aircraft such as the
V2500, the
RB211/Trent, the
PW4000 and the
CF34. Kawasaki also works for the
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). It was responsible for the development and production of the payload fairings, payload attach fittings (PAF) and the construction of the launch complex for the
H-II rocket. KHI continued to provide services for the
H-IIA rocket until its retirement in June 2025. ==Main products==