Chinese missile and space group Casic is pushing into civil aircraft manufacturing, announcing that it plans to set up a factory to make composite parts, including some for the Comac C919 airliner. The move presents the world’s composites suppliers with an important new competitor, and it is part of the group’s wider strategy to move into civil markets. That strategy is itself part of a national policy requiring defense manufacturers to diversify.

BEIJING — Japan plans to increase its submarine fleet to 24 boats from the current 18, Kyodo News reports. The larger submarine force will increase the country’s capacity to maintain patrols in nearby water, especially the East China Sea, the news agency reports amid a period of unusually tense relations with China. The country will do this by extending the operational lives of its submarines, which have traditionally been kept short to hold down the size of the fleet while maintaining a building rate of one a year.

Chinese missile and space group Casic is entering the civil aircraft manufacturing world, presenting a significant competitor to composite suppliers. It is setting up a factory in Zhejiang where it wants to make some composite parts for the Comac C919 airliner—fiber composite ailerons, fairings, winglets and tail cones. The factory will engage in military/civil dual-use production, and is part of the company's strategy to move into more commercial aviation markets.