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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...

The Department of Defense announced today that the team led by Lockheed Martin Systems Integration, Owego, N.Y., has been selected to build the new presidential helicopter (VXX) based on its U.S. 101 medium lift helicopter. This $1.7 billion, cost plus award fee contract will launch the VXX program’s system development and demonstration phase during which the program will integrate a “system of systems” with a modern, in-production aircraft to provide the president with safe and reliable helicopter transportation. “Today’s announcement is a significant milestone that caps an exhaustive and deliberative source selection process that carefully followed the Federal Acquisition Regulations,”...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a surprise move, the U.S. Navy (news - web sites) has chosen a transatlantic team led by Lockheed Martin Corp. to build a new U.S. presidential helicopter fleet in a deal valued at well over $1 billion, several congressional sources said on Friday. The decision was a stunning setback for Connecticut-based United Technologies Corp.'s Sikorsky Aircraft unit -- which for nearly 50 years has built and maintained the green and white "Marine One" helicopters that fly the president. Sen. Charles Schumer (news, bio, voting record), a New York Democrat, announced the decision in a press release,...