BEIJING — The South Korean government is negotiating export sales of the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) Surion utility helicopter with two foreign governments, industry officials say. One of those governments is quite possibly that of Indonesia, a country with which South Korea has a rapidly deepening military-industrial relationship. The prospective deals appear to be entirely political. One industry source says no competitors are involved. The number of aircraft that would be covered by the orders is unknown.

China's effort to develop its aviation propulsion industry appears to be increasingly ambitious, with two new engine projects coming to light, including a second high-bypass turbofan of around 30,000-lb. thrust, aimed at military use. While the push is broad, the prospects for success still look distant. Industry officials emphasize that independent engine development remains extremely challenging for the various subsidiaries of Avic that are involved. “It is not any one aspect of technology,” says one. “For us, it is all hard.”

They were confident they could do it, and they did it. Just a few days after Chinese officials said with unusual boldness that they expected no trouble in achieving their first space docking, the Shenzhou 8 capsule opened the way for the Chinese manned space program by closing on the Tiangong 1 docking target and solidly connecting to it.