Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Society of Japanese Aerospace discusses concorde replacement with France

by Brian Turner

In a deal concluded at the Paris Airshow, the French Aerospace Industries Association and the Society of Japanese Aerospace Companies will undertake a three-year joint project geared toward developing a commercially viable successor to the Concorde supersonic jet.

The Japanese and French governments and industry will contribute ¥100 each in the first year of the project, with the total investment over the three years for the two nations expected to amount to ¥600 million.

Areas that the project will explore are to include reducing the noise of the jet engines - which was a particular problem with the Concorde - and understanding the structure of composite materials.

Besides the work toward developing a new airplane, many observers see the project as a way to strengthen the ties between the aerospace industries of the two nations, as well as to perhaps make the Japanese market more accessible to Airbus.

Boeing has had a near-monopoly in Japan for more than 50 years. Some critics dismissed the project as too expensive and said that they doubted there would be a commercial market for a supersonic jet.

 

 

 

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