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One aircraft that was definitely not being considered for export was the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit, which made a whistlestop visit to Singapore on the first official day of the airshow. The B-2 was undertaking a ‘global reach’ deployment from the Us, demonstrating its ability to reach anywhere in the world in less than a day with the aid of inflight refuelling — a point no doubt noted in Beijing. The B-2 was on the ground for around two hours with the engines running, allowing for a crew change before returning to the Us.
Asian Aerospace 1996 Airshow Report
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Asian Aerospace
Asian aerospace, both the industry and its namesake airshow are booming.
Asia’s much-touted economic boom is not something that western aerospace companies have ignored, and this was reflected in the volume of the exhibitors and the size of their presence at Asian Aerospace, thus giving credibility to the organiser’s claim that the exhibition is now the world’s third major airshow, approaching Farnborough and Paris in size and stature. Talk at Asian Aerospace was dominated by Fokker’s parlous condition and speculation about possible new buyers for the famous Dutch airliner manufacturer. Majority shareholder Daimler-Benz Aerospace announced it was withdrawing financial support for the debt-burdened Fokker, with the result that the manufacturer applied for bankruptcy protection. A Dutch Government bridging loan will allow Fokker to continue to operate until about mid-March, by which time a new buyer would have to be found (refer Stop Press for details).
Meanwhile AI(R) – Aero International Regional, the teaming of Avro, ATR and Jetstream — made its airshow debut. AI(R) had the largest number of aircraft on static display of any manufacturer with a J41, ATR 42-500, Mount Cook ATR 72 and RJ85 on display. The big news from AI(R) is that it is studying the development of a new 70 seat regional jet and a stretched 85 seat development, aircraft which it says would sell particularly well in North America. This project is independent of any AI(R) participation in an Asian 100 seat regional jet programme. The other big regional airliner news was Bombardier’s announcement of the launch order for the 70 seat de Havilland Dash 8-400 turboprop from Great China Airlines of Taiwan. Certification is planned for the first quarter of 1999 with deliveries following immediately afterwards.
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At the big end of the market Boeing, fresh from its success in securing major orders from Singapore and Malaysia airlines, brought its first 777 development aircraft to Singapore. Next to the 777 was parked the Pratt & Whitney powered Ilyushin Il-96M of which Aeroflot is acquiring 20, financed by a recently approved $1bn loan from the US. Other airliners present included the Canadair RJ, Dornier 328, Saab 2000 and Tupolev Tu-204. China had the Xian Y-7 (An-26 development) on display in Y7H-500 freighter form, while neither Fokker nor Airbus had aircraft present. Corporate aircraft were also out in force, with the Learjet 31, Lear 60, Canadair RJSE, Gulfstream IV, Falcon 900EX, Falcon 2000, Hawker 800, Citation X, Beechjet, Super King Air 200 and Super King Air 350 all on display.
Northrop Grumman’s B-2 Spirit and the Royal Air Force’s Red Arrows aerobatic team were perhaps the two major military highlights of Asian Aerospace. The remarkable B-2 flew a ‘global reach’ mission from the US to Singapore. The stealth bomber spent about two hours on the ground for a crew change before departing again for the USA. The B-2 headlined an impressive US defence presence, with examples each of a F-16C, F-15C, F/A-18D, P-3, AV-8B, KC-10, KC-135, C-17, AH-1W, UH-60L, CH-47D and AH-64D all on static display. By comparison, Russia’s military presence was uncharacteristically low key, with just one Su-27 (the same aircraft which visited Avalon last year) taking part. The Su-35 and Su-32FN were originally scheduled to appear but did not make it. France’s Dassault was well represented by a Mirage 2000D two seat strike fighter, a single seat Mirage 2000C fighter and the new generation Rafale, represented in Rafale B two seat ground attack form.
The uncertainty surrounding Fokker aside, the mood at Asian Aerospace was upbeat. With airlines re-equipping and expanding their fleets to keep pace with unprecedented growth, a growing market for corporate aircraft from growing economic powers, and the region’s air forces modernising their inventories with the latest generation aircraft and weapon systems, the aerospace business potential in Asia is enormous.
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