Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
Radars, missiles, satellites, elevators, factory automation and power devices.
Mitsubishi Electric was spun out of Mitsubishi Shipbuilding's electrical machinery division in January 1921 and now employs around 149,000 people against revenue in the region of five trillion yen. The shares are listed in Tokyo under code 6503 and carry a London listing as well. Five business areas organise the group. Infrastructure holds social systems, power systems and the defence and space business. Industry and Mobility covers factory automation and automotive equipment. Life covers building systems, meaning elevators and escalators, together with air conditioning and home appliances. Digital Innovation, renamed from Business Platform in 2025, sells IT infrastructure, security and systems integration. Semiconductors and Devices supplies power, high frequency and optical components. Defence and space is one slice of one of those five areas, and the company is a mainstream electrical manufacturer everywhere else.
Within that slice the position is strong. Mitsubishi Electric has built Japanese air surveillance radar since the 1960s, including the J/FPS-3 and the fixed three-dimensional J/FPS-5, four of which were sited between 2008 and 2011 to track ballistic missiles, each housed in a 34-metre hexagonal building that earned the set its Gamera nickname. Each of those radars cost in the region of 18 billion yen. The company designed the Type 03 Chu-SAM medium range surface-to-air missile system with Kato Works, supplying seekers and fire control while Mitsubishi Heavy Industries handles missile assembly, and it produced the J/APG-2 radar for the F-2 fighter along with newer airborne active array and digital beamforming sets. Naval work covers multi-function radar, combat management systems and electronic warfare fits for destroyers. Beyond that sit the Air Defense Command and Control System, an operations simulation system for air defence training, a network electronic warfare system, signals intelligence equipment for EP-3 aircraft, satellite communications on the move including terminals for the V-22, and electro-optical products such as infrared night vision for the US-2 and panoramic surveillance cameras.
Space is the other half of the story. The DS2000 platform underpins the Himawari meteorological satellites and several QZSS Michibiki positioning spacecraft, and the company runs a space situational awareness system for the ministry. In February 2026 it won the contract for Japan's next generation defence communications satellite to succeed Kirameki-2, together with the associated ground segment. Ground stations, optical and radio telescopes and satellite data services complete that line. Everything else in the group is commercial and very large. Elevators and escalators, Mr Slim and other air conditioning ranges, MELSEC controllers and industrial robots, railway traction and electrification equipment, transformers and switchgear, and silicon carbide power modules all sit outside the defence perimeter, which is the right frame for anyone assessing the company as a supplier.
- Ground based air surveillance and ballistic missile warning radar
- Airborne fire control and active array radar
- Surface-to-air missile seekers and fire control
- Naval combat management and multi-function radar
- Electronic warfare and signals intelligence systems
- Air defence command, control and training simulation
- Geostationary satellite bus design and manufacture
- Satellite communications terminals and ground segment
- Space situational awareness systems
- Electro-optical and infrared sensor equipment
- Factory automation, drives and industrial robotics
- Power semiconductor and high frequency device production
Large fixed three-dimensional phased array radar for aircraft and ballistic missile detection, four sites in Japan.
Earlier fixed three-dimensional warning and control radar for the JASDF.
Active array fire control radar fitted to the Mitsubishi F-2.
Newer fighter radar developments building on the J/APG family.
Medium range air defence system designed with Kato Works, tracking up to 100 targets.
Command and control network tying Japanese air defence sensors and effectors together.
Training and operations analysis simulator for air defence units.
Shipborne radar for JMSDF surface combatants.
Naval command and weapon direction system.
Shipborne electronic support and countermeasures fit.
Networked electronic warfare equipment for Japanese forces.
Signals intelligence mission equipment for maritime patrol derivatives.
Mobile satellite communications terminals, including fits for the V-22.
Night vision equipment for the US-2 and 360 degree surveillance camera systems.
Geostationary platform used across communications, weather and navigation missions.
Geostationary weather spacecraft built on the DS2000 platform.
Regional navigation satellites for Japan's quasi-zenith system.
Successor to Kirameki-2 with its ground segment, contracted by the Ministry of Defense in February 2026.
Ground system for tracking and cataloguing objects in orbit.
Earth stations, control systems and optical and radio telescopes.
Building transportation systems sold worldwide through the Life business.
Programmable controllers, servo systems and robots for factory automation.
Room and packaged air conditioners including the Mr Slim range, plus domestic appliances.
Power modules including silicon carbide devices, high frequency and optical components.
Propulsion, control and power supply systems for rail operators.
Transformers, switchgear, generators and grid equipment.
Systems integration, IT infrastructure and security operations from the Digital Innovation area.
Programs & Platforms
Tokyo, Japan
Ownership
Publicly traded · Tokyo Stock Exchange: 6503