TOKYO—Resolution of structural faults has cleared the way for the beginning of series production of the Kawasaki Heavy Industries XC-2 airlifter next fiscal year after a delay of more than two years caused mainly by a need to reinforce the fuselage structure.

Zhuhai, China—Chinese rocket manufacturer CALT will boost production of its Long March 3 launcher following an order for 20 units from sibling company China Great Wall Industry Corp. A separate order for eight DFH-4 satellite buses will support the current production rate for that spacecraft by manufacturer CAST, also a corporate sibling of China Great Wall. All three companies belong to national space contractor CASC, so the two deals, together worth 15 billion yuan ($2.26 billion) and announced at Airshow China, are internal group transactions.

TOKYO—Japan is expected to soon issue a long-awaited request for proposals for its F-X fighter competition, despite a media report that the country has settled on the Lockheed Martin F-35 as a future combat aircraft. In a rare piece of recent good news for the Joint Strike Fighter program, the Mainichi newspaper reported on Nov. 8 that the ministry planned to request “procurement costs” for the F-35 in its Fiscal 2012 budget request, covering the period from April 1, 2012.