TOKYO — The first made-in-Japan passenger jet in four decades reaches a development milestone this week:
A ‘‘rolling out’’ ceremony in Nagoya on Saturday will unveil the long-awaited Mitsubishi Regional Jet, or MRJ, a lightweight and fuel-efficient plane made of carbon-fiber composite.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries says the MRJ90 will seat 88 people, while the MRJ70 will seat 76. A planned MRJ100X will have 100 seats.
The first flight is planned for the second quarter of next year, with test flights to follow totaling 2,500 hours. The first deliveries are set for 2017.
MRJ has 191 orders, from All Nippon Airways, Trans State Holdings, SkyWest, Air Mandalay, and Eastern Air Line, with 184 additional purchase options.
Japan Airlines said it will buy 32 of the jets, with deliveries set for 2021, but a deal is not final.
The MRJ is Japan’s first nationally funded, domestically manufactured passenger aircraft since the YS-11, a turboprop that was discontinued in 1973.
The regional-jet industry targets mostly North American and European markets, and is expected to be lucrative. But competition is intense, including from the Embraer E-Jet family and CRJ700 and CRJ900 from Bombadier.
Mitsubishi and other Japanese manufacturers are longtime partners with Boeing Co. and made components for the 787 Dreamliner.
Honda Motor Co. is planning its own jet, the HondaJet, its first foray into aeronautics, although it’s much smaller, seating only several passengers. The plan is for it to go into service next year.
The MRJ engine is supplied by Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies.