Chinese Jet Delivery, New Fighter Jet, Historic United Order - Dec 9
China Eastern takes first delivery of Chinese Airbus and Boeing competitor
China Eastern Airlines took delivery yesterday of the first Comac C919, China's answer to Boeing ($BA) and Airbus narrow-body passenger airliners. The new aircraft is one of five the airline ordered, due to enter passenger service in spring 2023.
Comac's C919 had been in planning and testing stages for 14 years, leading to dwindling commercial interest. Even so, the Chinese manufacturer has more than 1,000 orders on the books, including 300 placed by undisclosed buyers in November.
The C919 features seating configurations accommodating between 158-192 passengers, attempting to compete directly with the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 families of aircraft. Comac's new aircraft features a significantly smaller maximum range of 3,450 miles compared to the A320 family's 5,430 miles and the 737 family's 4,430 miles. Even so, its list price is $11m less than that of a new A320neo, and $23m less than that of a 737 MAX.
Japan, Britain, and Italy announce joint next-gen jet fighter collaboration
Japan, Britain, and Italy announced this morning that the nations are joining forces to design and produce a new, next-generation fighter jet by 2035. The fighter is expected to replace Britain's Typhoon fighter jets and complement US-built F-35s. This also marks the first time since World War II that Japan will collaborate on a major defence project independently from the United States.
The collaboration, known as the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), will combine the UK's Future Combat Air System project, otherwise called "Tempest," with Japan's F-X initiative.
Given the dramatic increase in Russian military mobilization over the past year, Japan plans to announce a military build-up program of its own that will double defense spending to roughly 2% GDP over five years. Japan's involvement in the GCAP project indicates that much of this increased spending may be directed beyond Japan's typical US military suppliers, like Lockheed Martin ($LMT) or Sikorsky.
The UK's BAE Systems PLC, Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and Italy's Leonardo are set to lead design of the new fighter. Other major contributors will include MBDA, Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Rolls-Royce PLC, IHI Corp, and Avio Aero.
United Airlines to place major Boeing 787 Order
United Airlines ($UAL) appears set to place a major order for Boeing ($BA) 787s next week, in what United says will be a "historic announcement" on Tuesday. The airline has stated on several occasions throughout the year that it has been evaluating offers from Boeing and Airbus related to new orders of more than 100 wide-body aircraft.
SpaceX plans to launch private Japanese moon lander
SpaceX is planning to launch Tokyo-based ispace's Hakuto-R moon lander on Sunday, Dec 11. This should be the same day of the return of NASA's Orion capsule following the agency's Artemis 1 moon mission.
NASA and Lockheed Martin Attempting to eliminate Sonic Boom
NASA's X-59 project, in collaboration with Lockheed Martin ($LMT), seeks to accomplish supersonic flight without generating a sonic boom. Sonic booms normally exceed 100 decibels during flight, which led the US Federal Aviation Administration in 1973 to enact a ban on commercial supersonic flight over land.
AirAsia announces launch of new Cambodian airline
AirAsia plans to launch a new airline in Cambodia called AirAsia Cambodia in a joint venture with Sivilai Asia. The new carrier plans to commence service in late 2023.