A Mitsubishi Heavy Industries unit said that it had won an order for up to 100 regional jets from a US airline, breathing life into Japan's nascent aircraft industry.

Trans States Holdings (TSH), America's second-biggest independent regional carrier, placed an order for up to 100 jets with Mitsubishi Aircraft, becoming its second customer following All Nippon Airways and its first client overseas.

TSH said fuel efficiency and other economic advantages over rivals led the company to choose Mitsubishi's jets.

Mitsubishi said it would deliver the first jet to TSH in 2014. The remaining 99 planes will be delivered in the five to six years after the initial delivery.

The order provides a tailwind for Mitsubishi, which is chasing Bombardier and Embraer in its $2 billion project to build Japan's first passenger jet.