Bradley Perrett covered China, Japan, South Korea and Australia. He is a Mandarin-speaking Australian.
Before joining Aviation Week in 2006 he was a macroeconomics, politics and aerospace journalist with Reuters. Perrett holds a bachelor’s degree in law from Macquarie University, Sydney. He left Aviation Week in 2020.
Japanese technologists are committed to including a pilot in their proposed i3 sixth-generation fighter, regarding the need for onboard decision-making as indispensable in a combat aircraft for at least the next three decades. Among the range of technologies intended for pre-development for the prospective fighter, artificial intelligence has been left out.
BEIJING — China’s Long March 2, 3 and 4 launchers will continue to serve for at least 10 years, according to Meng Guang, vice president of Shanghai-based space contractor SAST. The current Long March 2, 3 and 4 are distinguished from the upcoming Long March 5, 6 and 7 rockets by their use of hydrazine fuel. The first launch of the Long March 5 heavy rocket is due in 2014.
Bank of China’s Singapore-based leasing arm BOC Aviation has added 30 more Airbus A320 family aircraft to its Airbus single-aisle order book. Delivery of the new aircraft will take place over a three-year period from 2012. Airbus expects BOC to make an engine selection in the near future. The deal, worth around $2.3 billion at list prices, takes the A320 order book for Asia’s largest leasing company to 128 aircraft, of which 80 have been delivered. BOC also has five A330-200 Freighters on firm order for delivery from 2012.
