Honeywell sees opportunities for both its commercial and defence businesses in Japan.
One of the more prominent foreign stands at this year's Japan Aerospace show in Nagoya was that of Honeywell, which does extensive business in Japan's commercial and defence aerospace business.
"Japan is still very relevant and it's still our largest market in the region for both commercial and defence," says Briand Greer, president of aerospace for Honeywell Asia-Pacific.
In the commercial sphere, the company is actively promoting various products and upgrades to existing Honeywell equipment. He notes that a number of Japanese carriers have shown interest in or purchased a Honeywell system designed to give pilots greater situational awareness of runway incursions.
He adds that Honeywell auxiliary power units have 90% market share in Japan.
In the Japanese defence market, Honeywell is focused on providing upgrades to existing platforms. The firm sees opportunities to provide engine upgrades for Tokyo's Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters and to provide a turbine starter to augment the engines of Lockheed Martin C-130 aircraft.
Other possible C-130 upgrades that Honeywell says are suitable for Tokyo include improved radar, a better terrain collision avoidance system and an enhanced ground collision warning system, says Heath Patrick, vice-president of technical sales and operations for Honeywell.
Greer says that increased competition for defence budgets in both the USA and overseas has spurred Honeywell to pursue sales opportunities more actively.
"We're going out to proactively sell a value proposition," says Greer. "We're introducing solutions to problems we've solved for other operators."
Source: Flight International
