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| Image: Flickr User - Times Asi |
By Benjamin David Baker
At a recent Expo, Chinese companies showcased several new aircraft and drones.
The state-owned Chinese company International Aero Development Corporation (IADC) recently launched an ambitious new expansion plan in Africa, according to Defense News. This includes an aviation training center, two regional marketing offices, two maintenance and support centers, and three spare-parts warehouses to promote sales and maintenance for Chinese-made aircraft. South Africa, Tanzania and the Republic of Congo are the main states where this expansion is taking place; warehouses in Zimbabwe and Kenya are also being planned. At the Aviation Expo China 2015 in Beijing last month, IADC’s General Manager Zhang Guangjian stated that this move is part of a larger plan to expand further throughout the continent.
IADC is a subsidiary company of Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), one of the largest state-owned developers of military and civilian aviation technology in China. The company has been involved in the development and export of several People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) platforms, including the FC-20, the export version of the Chengdu J-10, and the FC-1 Xiaolong, the export version of the JF-17 Thunder. IADC was set up to promote exports of AVIC’s civilian aircraft.
AVIC already has a large stake in the African aircraft market. Countries as varied as Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ethiopia, Namibia, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria, Mauritania, and Djibouti operate AVIC planes. This includes dual-use trainer aircraft, including the Hongdu L-15 and the joint Chinese/Pakistani K-8 Karakorum.
Read the full story at The Diplomat