Kawasaki P-1

what is it?

The Kawasaki P-1, previously P-X and XP-1, is a Japanese maritime patrol aircraft developed and manufactured by Kawasaki Aerospace Company. Unlike many maritime patrol aircraft, which are typically conversions of civilian designs, the P-1 is a purpose-built maritime aircraft with no civil counterpart and was designed from the onset for the role. It has the distinction of being the first operational aircraft in the world to make use of a fly-by-optics control system.

🔎How to recognise it: 4 jet engines · low wing · 35.4 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 996 km/htop speed
• range 8,000 kmwithout refuelling
• size 79.7 tmax take-off weight

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 19 years ago, in 2007.
• 🏎️Top speed is 7.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 35.4 m: about 8 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 13 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 8,000 km: Amsterdam to New York (≈5,850 km) without stopping.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.5× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

2007-09-28

introduced

2013

status

still flying

number built

—

role

maritime patrol aircraft

origin

🇯🇵 Japan

makers

Kawasaki Aerospace Systems Company

engines

4× IHI F7-10 / IHI Corporation F7

crew

3

length

38 m

wingspan

35.4 m

height

12.1 m

max take-off weight

79.7 t

top speed

996 km/h

cruise speed

833 km/h

range

8,000 km

ceiling

13,520 m

wings

low wing

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.