Free Republic

Briefing: China set to bid on major US aerospace programmes By Jon Grevatt 24 January 2011 Chinese President Hu Jintao's high-profile visit to the US looks set to be followed by ambitious bids from China to supply platforms to meet two major US military aircraft procurement programmes. State-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) is preparing proposals, in partnership with existing partner US aviation services group US Aerospace (USAE), to bid for the US Navy's VXX helicopter programme and the US Air Force T-X project to procure advanced jet trainers (AJT). A lawyer who represents USAE in its dealings with...

NEW YORK - The United Arab Emirates (UAE), the center of a growing controversy over its proposed management of US port terminals, is one of the world's most prolific arms buyers and a multi-billion-dollar military market both for the United States and Western Europe. The energy-rich Persian Gulf nation is currently taking delivery of about US$8.4 billion worth of military equipment, mostly state-of-the-art fighter aircraft, ordered from the US ($6.4 billion) and France ($2 billion) over the past five years. The delivery of 80 US- built F-16 E/F fighter planes - described as one of the biggest single arms packages...