Mitsubishi Aircraft has appointed Hisakazu Mizutani as its new president, effective 1 April.

Mizutani is currently president and CEO of Integrated Defense & Space Systems at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). He will replace Hiromichi Morimoto, who holds the role of president and CEO, and is due to retire on 31 March.

The Japanese manufacturer has also appointed Yuichi Shinohara as chief executive, effective 1 February. He currently holds the position of vice president, Commercial Aviation & Transportation Systems at MHI.

The appointment of two MHI executives to the top jobs follows Mitsubishi’s announcement last month of a two-year delay to the MRJ regional jet programme. Then, parent MHI also pledged to be more involved in the programme’s development.

The first MRJ90 is now targeted to be delivered to launch customer All Nippon Airways in mid-2020, from a former goal of mid-2018.

Source: Cirium Dashboard