23 February 2024

Singapore Airshow 2024: Kawasaki progresses with KJ300 engine development

by Prasobh Narayanan

A full-scale Kawasaki KJ300 turbofan engine displayed at the Singapore Airshow 2024. (Janes/Prasobh Narayanan)

Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries displayed its KJ300 turbofan engine at the Singapore Airshow 2024 held from 20 to 25 February.

Speaking to Janes , a company official said the engine completed its high-altitude testing in 2023 at a test facility in Japan and further testing is under way.

The KJ300 is the latest addition to the KJ engine series developed by Kawasaki and is primarily intended for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) applications. It is a small turbofan engine with a two-spool configuration that can generate a thrust of 3.58 kN (365 kgf) at sea-level static conditions.

The engine has a length of 950 mm and a diameter of 350 mm, and weighs 90 kg. It is of all-metal and metal-alloy construction.

The official states that the engine will undergo durability tests in its next stage of testing and that flight tests of the engine are expected to be conducted in partnership with a customer. Although the engine design has largely been finalised from the manufacturer's standpoint, feedback from the customer could likely result in minor changes to the design. The potential customer of the engine was not disclosed by Kawasaki.

According to the official, Kawasaki is ready to export the KJ300 engine and can configure the engine as per any customer requirements.

The engine began its development in-house in 2018 and is expected to enter service with a customer by 2027. Kawasaki has manufactured several prototype KJ300 engines.

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