NEEDHAM, MA-Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. has selected PTC as its strategic partner for developing a reliability and maintainability management platform for its Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) next-generation aircraft program.

The MRJ leverages aerodynamic engineering and noise analysis technologies to deliver economics and cabin comfort. With production planned for 2012, the MRJ is a compelling new offering in the global regional jet market, and the first new airliner produced in Japan in nearly 50 years.

To ensure its customers achieve maximum operational efficiency with each purchase, Mitsubishi Aircraft sought an advanced solution to support its reliability and maintainability management activities. This required a solution that centrally manages product improvements and enhancements (including a detailed product history), gathers and analyzes field data, and communicates necessary improvements to internal organizations and external partners.

After a review of competitive solutions, Mitsubishi Aircraft selected PTC’s Windchill Quality Solutions (formerly known as Relex) and PTC’s Arbortext Service Information Solutions. The company will implement the PTC solutions in its customer support organization, with the system expected to go live before the first aircraft delivery.

“Today, PTC is proud to have achieved preferred partner status with some of the biggest and most innovative brands in the aerospace and defense industry,” says Jim Heppelmann, president and CEO, PTC. “With its next-generation MRJ, Mitsubishi Aircraft is challenging the status quo of the regional jet market. We are confident that together we can help the MRJ meet the company’s high standards for quality, meet the industry’s requirements for safety, and meet their future customers’ need for reliability.”

Once deployed, the PTC solutions will enable greater collaboration across the MRJ project teams focused on ensuring the quality, reliability and maintainability of the aircraft. PTC’s quality and reliability management solutions are used today to help companies identify potential failure modes of a system, control or prevent their occurrence or effects, and track the compliance of parts and products against commonly-used industry standards.

PTC solutions that support the needs of the aerospace and defense industry are designed to support product design and lifecycle management activities of aircraft manufacturers and suppliers, as well as of airlines and government/military organizations. PTC is a leading provider of reliability and maintainability solutions for the A&D industry, delivering solutions to 18 out of the top 20 companies, such as Boeing and Airbus.