The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries MU-2 is a twin-turboprop, high-wing utility aircraft developed and produced by Japanese industrial conglomerate Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The aircraft took its maiden flight on September 14, 1963 and entered full-scale production later that year. A total of 704 airframes were manufactured during a production run that spanned from 1963 to 1986.
The distinctive Mitsubishi Heavy Industries MU-2 evolved from a clean sheet initiative to develop an airframe that could provide efficient, reliable service for a wide range of utilities, both civil and governmental, including military. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries engineers first began work on the project in the mid 1950s, laying the basis for an aircraft to be powered by turboprop engines. At the time, most aircraft manufacturers were simply swapping turboprop powerplants into aircraft initially designed for piston power, which created efficiency, reliability, and sometimes safety problems.