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.
David Fulghum and Bradley Perrett (Washington and Beijing)
A low-key, but so far uncompromising, campaign is underway in Japan to add stealth to the nation’s defense arsenal by acquiring the Lockheed Martin F-22. The rationale for buying the fighter—little talked about, but central to the debate—is missile defense. In its latest move—a decision to accelerate upgrades of its F-15J Eagles and operate them longer—Japan is buying more time for its campaign to get the Raptor.
Bradley Perrett and Kazuki Shiibashi (Beijing and Tokyo)
Japan is seeking not only stealth but also thrust-vectoring, highly integrated avionics, skin sensors, fly-by-light controls and new engines as it pushes ahead with building a fighter technology demonstrator. Supersonic cruise is also targeted by Japan’s defense research institute, although it isn’t listed as an objective of the demonstrator program.
China's naval helicopter unit has learned to land on moving ships at night after trying and failing to do so for three decades. Luo Changshuang, political commissar of the shipboard air troop, says the unit is now an all-weather, multitask combat force.
