Nakanihon Air Service

Name

Nakanihon Air Service

Legal name

NAKANIHON AIR Co.,Ltd.

Website

https://nnk.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1960

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aerial Surveying and Aviation Services

NAICS

Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (541370), Other Support Activities for Air Transportation (488190)

SIC

Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)

akta.pro primary industry

Remote Sensing & Earth Observation Analytics (Satellite/UAV/LiDAR, Image Processing) (EUAHAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms (BPAMANAM), Air Medical Transport (Helicopter/Fixed-Wing) (HLAFANAD), Environmental Reporting, Dashboards & Regulatory Submittals (Automated Reports, e-Reporting) (EUAHAKAL)

Keywords

• Aerial surveying services
• LiDAR mapping systems
• Helicopter emergency services
• Aerial photogrammetry
• Bathymetric survey services

Headquarters

HQ city

Nagoya

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Aviation Services: Revenue from helicopter and aircraft operations including doctor helicopter services, medical transport, news coverage, chartered flights, cargo transport, environmental conservation, and aerial photography services.
2. Surveying and Mapping Services: Aerial surveying, LiDAR mapping, bathymetric surveys, remote sensing, infrastructure inspection, and disaster response surveys for government agencies and municipalities.
3. Data Products Sales: Sales of orthophoto data, digital maps, DEM data, 3D models, and archived aerial photography. Products sold with licensing for single-user, multi-user, and secondary copyright permissions.
4. Software Products: Sales and licensing of proprietary software including Mierre point cloud viewer, SurveyViewII, G_Nas GIS series, Let's Map WebGIS, and PePaLe tablet GIS.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Nakanihon Air Service provides two integrated service lines: (1) Aviation Operations covering doctor helicopter emergency medical transport, medical evacuation, news coverage, charter flights, cargo transport, environmental conservation, and aerial photography using helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft; and (2) Survey & Research offering aerial LiDAR surveying (SAKURA series), UAV laser scanning (TOKI), green-laser bathymetry (SAKURA-Ⅴ), hyperspectral/thermal remote sensing (CAST), terrestrial laser scanning, SLAM-based indoor mapping, oblique photography, and proprietary software products (Mierre, SurveyViewII, G_Nas, Let's Map!, PePaLe, SODEN X, nnk-cloud). Clients are primarily government agencies, municipalities, water resource authorities, and construction/engineering firms across Japan.

Product overview

Nakanihon Air Service (中日本航空) operates two main business divisions: Aviation Operations and Survey & Research. The Aviation division provides helicopter and aircraft services including emergency medical transport (doctor helicopter operating from 14 locations), news coverage, cargo transport, charter flights, and aircraft maintenance across diverse aircraft including Bell, Airbus, and Cessna models. The Survey & Research division offers advanced geospatial technology solutions centered on proprietary laser surveying systems: the SAKURA series (helicopter-mounted SAKURA, fixed-wing SAKURA-F, green laser bathymetry SAKURA-GH/SAKURA-Ⅴ), UAV-mounted TOKI, and CAST remote sensing platform. Supporting software includes Mierre (point cloud viewer), SurveyViewⅡ, PePaLe (tablet GIS), Let's Map! (WebGIS), G_Nas series, SODEN X, and nnk-cloud for data processing. These products enable applications across infrastructure management, disaster response, environmental monitoring, forest management, coastal surveys, and archaeological research.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SAKURA: Helicopter-mounted airborne laser measurement system for high-density terrain surveying
• TOKI
• CAST
• SLAM Measurement
• CARPHIN-V
• Mierre (ミエール)

Products and services

• Doctor Helicopter Emergency Medical Service Emergency medical helicopter service providing rapid patient transport for critical care across 14 operating bases nationwide. Aimed at emergency medical providers, hospitals, prefectural governments, and the Japan Aero Medical Services Association-certified network.
• Medical Transport (EMS) Service Air ambulance and inter-hospital medical transfer service using helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Serves medical institutions, government agencies, and patients requiring long-distance transport.
• Aircraft and Helicopter Charter Service Chartered helicopter and fixed-wing flights for corporate, government, and private clients. Targets businesses, media, and government users needing on-demand aerial transport.
• Cargo Transport Service Aerial cargo transport using helicopters and aircraft. Serves logistics, government agencies, and remote-area delivery customers.
• News Coverage Aerial Service Aerial news-gathering helicopter operations for broadcast media. Targets television networks, news agencies, and event organizers.
• Aerial Photography and Filming Service Aerial photography and video recording services from helicopters and aircraft. Serves media, tourism boards, and corporate clients.
• Aerial Surveying Service Aerial LiDAR and photogrammetric surveying of terrain, infrastructure, and environment using SAKURA LiDAR and UltraCam camera systems. Sold to government ministries, prefectures, municipalities, water-resource agencies, and engineering firms.
• Bathymetric Surveying Service Underwater and shallow-water depth measurement using helicopter-mounted green laser (SAKURA-Ⅴ) and boat-mounted multibeam echo sounder (CARPHIN-V). Aimed at dam reservoir, river, port, and coastal infrastructure managers.
• Terrestrial Surveying Service Ground-based 3D laser scanning, SLAM-based indoor mapping, and Mobile Mapping System (MMS) services for road, tunnel, building, and underground facility surveying. Serves construction, engineering, and government clients.
• SAKURA Helicopter-Mounted LiDAR System Proprietary helicopter-mounted airborne laser surveying system using waveform recording technology to capture 16+ points per square meter with multi-directional camera capability for vegetation-penetrating terrain mapping.
• SAKURA-F Fixed-Wing LiDAR System Proprietary fixed-wing aircraft-mounted LiDAR surveying system for high-altitude (1,000m+) wide-area terrain capture using waveform recording for unlimited target acquisition.
• SAKURA-GH / SAKURA-Ⅴ Green Laser Bathymetry System Proprietary helicopter-mounted green laser airborne bathymetry system delivering simultaneous land and underwater terrain acquisition with 100MP camera and 4K video.
• TOKI UAV Laser Survey System Proprietary UAV (drone) mounted laser surveying system with 330-degree field of view, achieving 300+ points/m² ultra-high-density scanning and approximately 30-minute rapid data delivery after measurement.
• CAST Airborne Remote Sensing System Proprietary fixed-wing aircraft-mounted remote sensing system integrating CASI-1500h hyperspectral and TABI-1800 thermal infrared sensors for comprehensive environmental monitoring — the only domestically operated system of its kind in Japan.
• UltraCam Eagle Mark3 Aerial Photography Service Digital aerial photogrammetry service using the Vexcel UltraCam Eagle Mark3 large-format camera at approximately 449 megapixels, delivering 1.9cm ground resolution at 1,000m altitude with RGB and NIR multispectral capture.
• CARPHIN-V Portable Multibeam Echo Sounder Service Portable boat-mounted multibeam echo sounder service for shallow-water bathymetric surveys, capable of 0.5m minimum depth with autonomous navigation and auto-return functions.
• SLAM 3D Mapping Service SLAM-based indoor and underground 3D mapping service using GeoSLAM Zeb-Horizon and KAARTA STENCIL2 systems, scanning at 300,000 points per second for environments where GNSS is unavailable.
• Mierre 3D Point Cloud Viewer Software Proprietary 3D point cloud viewing software featuring S-DEM technology for terrain visualization even under vegetation, supporting change detection and displacement vector analysis. Licensed to surveying and engineering customers.
• SurveyViewII Survey Results Viewing System Proprietary survey results viewing system providing easy access to measurement data with cross-section creation and editing capabilities. Targets survey and engineering users.
• Let's Map! WebGIS Platform Web-based GIS platform with no-code construction tailored for municipal government use and public data access.
• G_Nas Municipal Operations GIS Suite Comprehensive GIS software suite for municipal government operations including fixed asset management, road management, and urban planning.
• PePaLe Tablet GIS Windows tablet GIS application for field surveys with offline capability, GPS tracking, and integration with Let's Map! WebGIS.
• SODEN X Vegetation Management System Specialized GIS for power-line vegetation clearance (approaching-tree) survey and felling management support using mesh-based tree-crown analysis. Sold to power utilities and forest managers.
• nnk-cloud Thematic Map Creation Service Cloud-based service for creating terrain analysis maps (topographic relief, slope classification, hillshade) and point cloud visualization from DEM data, with unit pricing per km² at 1m and 0.5m mesh resolutions.
• DET Aerial Photo Data Sales Sales of orthophoto aerial photo data at 50cm (Basic) and 25cm (High Definition) resolutions with single-user, multi-user, and secondary copyright licensing options. Available from the company's historical aerial photo archive.
• Oblique Aerial Photography Service Aerial oblique photography service used for disaster documentation, promotional and tourism materials, and 3D model creation. Targets government, media, and corporate clients.
• FTD Level-7 VR Flight Simulator Training Virtual reality flight simulator training service using a JCAB-qualified FTD Level-7 Loft Dynamics device — the first such qualification in Japan and Asia-Pacific. Aimed at pilot training organizations and aviation operators.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100,000+ safe doctor helicopter operations achieved
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Loft Dynamics AGcoreTechnology or IntegrationLoft Dynamics installed their VR flight simulator (qualified to FTD Level-7) at Nakanihon Air's facility, representing the first such qualification in Japan and the broader Asia-Pacific region.
• 株式会社フジヤマ (Fujiyama Design)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerJoint venture partner for various surveying projects including National Highway Route 1 Western Region Survey and Kiso River 3D Survey projects.
• テイコク設計 (Teikoku Design)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerJoint venture partner for Kiso River upstream 3D surveying project.
• (一社)日本建設機械施工協会施工技術総合研究所 (Japan Construction Machinery and Construction Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research partner for UAV laser measurement applications in construction management, receiving Encouragement Award.
• 電源開発株式会社 J-POWER (Electric Power Development Co.)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration on S-DEM data analysis for landslide terrain using change vector analysis technology.
• 株式会社開発設計コンサルタント (Kaihatsu Sekkei Consultant)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research on S-DEM data utilization for landslide change vector analysis, recipient of Paper Award.
• 岡山大学 (Okayama University)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic research partner for landslide terrain change vector analysis using S-DEM technology.
• GSI Maps (Geospatial Information Authority)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUtilizes GSI Maps data as background reference for surveying outputs and shares survey data with national geospatial database.
• Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJCAB qualified Loft Dynamics VR simulator to FTD Level-7 standards for aviation training, marking first such qualification in Japan and Asia-Pacific.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Pasco Corporation (株式会社パスコ): Japan's leading geospatial information services provider with strengths in satellite-derived mapping, urban-planning GIS, and emergency response — competing for the same MLIT and municipal contracts as Nakanihon.
• Aero Asahi Corporation (朝日航洋株式会社): Japanese helicopter operator providing air ambulance, news, charter, and aerial surveying services — directly comparable across both aviation-services and aerial-surveying segments.
• Asia Air Survey Co., Ltd. (アジア航測株式会社): Japan's largest dedicated aerial surveying company providing airborne LiDAR, photogrammetry, and disaster-response geospatial services to MLIT, municipalities, and private clients — the closest direct competitor to Nakanihon's surveying business.
• Kokusai Kogyo Co., Ltd. (国際航業株式会社): Long-established Japanese geospatial firm offering aerial surveying, GIS consulting, and environmental measurement to government clients — directly comparable in customer base, service mix, and reliance on public-sector contracts.

Broad incumbents

• Trimble Inc. Global provider of geospatial hardware and software (GNSS, total stations, aerial mapping, GIS) — comparable technology stack to SAKURA/TOKI on the instrumentation side and competes with Mierre/SurveyView in software.

Emerging players

• Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (Fazzer / UAV division): Industrial UAV (unmanned helicopter/drone) maker whose platform underlies parts of Japan's UAV surveying ecosystem; intersects with Nakanihon's TOKI UAV-laser business as an enabling/competing technology supplier.
• Furuno Electric Co., Ltd. Japanese marine-electronics specialist producing multibeam echo sounders and hydrographic instruments — comparable to Nakanihon's CARPHIN-V portable multibeam bathymetric offering.

Others

• Loft Dynamics AG: Swiss VR flight-simulator maker whose FTD Level-7-qualified device was installed by Nakanihon Air — a technology partner rather than competitor, but adjacent to its aviation-training value proposition.

Regional players

• Hokkaido Air Service Co., Ltd. (北海道エアシステム): Hokkaido-focused air services company operating helicopters and small aircraft for charter and emergency work — comparable aviation-services profile but geographically separated from Nakanihon's central-Japan base.
• Tohoku Air Service Co., Ltd. (東北エアサービス株式会社): Tohoku-based helicopter and small aircraft operator providing news coverage, charter, and emergency services; an overlap on aviation services but primarily serving a distinct regional footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInnnk.co.jp/en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nakanihon Air Service