Japan’s Sole Remaining SpaceJet Aircraft to Go on Display at Aviation Museum

The sole remaining aircraft from Japan’s Mitsubishi SpaceJet programme, which was cancelled before entering commercial production, will be displayed at an aviation museum. The Mitsubishi SpaceJet (MRJ) test aircraft, registered JA26MJ, will join the renovated collection of an aviation museum in Japan’s Aichi Prefecture. The exhibition is scheduled to open to visitors on January 29, 2027.

JA26MJ, the tenth flight-test aircraft built under the SpaceJet programme, made its maiden flight from Nagoya in March 2020. The aircraft accumulated a total of 48 flight hours during the testing programme and will be displayed alongside the YS-11, Japan’s first domestically developed post-war passenger aircraft.

Launched in 2008 as the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ), the project was later renamed SpaceJet. The programme attracted orders from several customers, including Japanese carriers ANA and JAL, with total orders reaching 267 aircraft. However, repeated delays in development and certification prevented the aircraft from entering commercial service.

The SpaceJet programme, which received approximately ¥1 trillion ($7.6 billion) in investment, was suspended in October 2020. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) officially announced the cancellation of the project in February 2023. In 2024, the company also disclosed the write-off of approximately ¥640 billion (more than $4 billion) in debt associated with MSJ Asset Management, formerly Mitsubishi Aircraft.

Although Japan’s ambition to develop a domestically manufactured regional passenger jet ended without the SpaceJet entering commercial service, JA26MJ will now be preserved as a reminder of this significant chapter in the country’s aviation history.