JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 21

China BUSlNESS

Zhuhai Air Show displays China's
defence and export ambitions
The 11th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition,
known as the Zhuhai Air Show, was held early November in Zhuhai,
Guangdong province, China. The air show has become the go-to spot
for seeing the latest in Chinese aircraft and military hardware.

umerous new airplanes
were making their debuts in the Zhuhai Air
Show this year, including the
J-20 stealth fighter, Y-20 strategic airlifter, and AG-600
seaplane.
A combat drone made
of composite materials
A CH-5 reconnaissance/
combat drone was also on
public display.
The drone is made of composite materials and has
a wingspan of 21 metres.
Twice as big as its predecessors in the CH (Caihong, or
Rainbow) family, the drone
can stay in the air for about
60 hours and operate at
an altitude of up to 10 km.
Its current maximum range
is 6,500 km, and a future upgrade will enable it to fly as
far as 10,000 km.
The China Academy of
Aerospace
Aerodynamics,
part of China Aerospace
Science and Technology

Corp., is China's largest military drone exporter by number of products sold overseas. Its CH-series drones
have been sold to armed forces in more than 10 countries.
China has granted an export
license for the CH-5.

civilian aircraft at the show.
The long-haul plane, with
280 seats, will have a range
of 12,000 kilometres. Its advanced aerodynamic design
will use composite materials.
It has not been decided which
engine will be used.

Boeing and Airbus
in the line of sight
The Commercial Aircraft
Corporation
of
China
(COMAC) and Russia's United Aircraft Corporation
(UAC) unveiled a one-tenth
scale model of a wide-body

COMAC underlined that,
based on their experience of
the research and production
process, from the start it will
take seven years to get to the
first test flight, and 10 years
to formally deliver to the client.

The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) booth at the 11th Zhuhai
Air Show (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

No110 January - February 2017 /

The total value of this programme is approximately
US$13-20 billion, and China
and Russia will split the bill.
The US news agency
Bloomberg expressed reserves about the timeline.
"It took Airbus three decades
to become a serious challenger
to Boeing. Airbus and Boeing
are already wearing themselves
out trying to keep up with each
other's advances into new materials technologies. Both the
787 Dreamliner and the A350
XWB are made up of about
50% composite materials such
as carbon fibre."
While China's domestic aviation market is well on the
way to becoming the world's
biggest by 2035, longerhaul markets fall well behind. To sell a plane overseas, COMAC will have to
convince aviation regulators
in other countries that its
planes are safe to fly over major cities, then persuade foreign airlines to order them.
More information:
www.globaltimes.cn

jec composites magazine

http://www.globaltimes.cn

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017