Avicopter is studying a 10-ton helicopter and sees a possible opportunity to build another, smaller aircraft, as it works to become one of a small group of manufacturers with a full range of rotorcraft. A third rotorcraft under consideration, which would be built with Russian Helicopters, would have a gross weight of 30 tons, says Avicopter, the rotary-wing specialist subsidiary of Chinese aeronautics conglomerate Avic.

Japan is preparing the policy ground for joint development of combat aircraft, warships, and space- and cyber-warfare systems, with the launch of a study intended to build consensus on the issue. As the country inches toward an historic change in defense industrial policy, a study group will look at how Japan’s almost blanket ban on arms exports could be reviewed to help preserve its development and production base.

Avic Aircraft’s proposed MA700 turboprop airliner will enter service in 2015 or 2016 under current planning, says Han Yiqiu, VP of the airplane maker’s Xi’an Aircraft works. The manufacturer is aiming at a cruising speed close to that of its current turboprops, the MA60 and MA600, derivatives of the Antonov An-24.