CACC Rumored To Be Interested In Bidding For Assets

A government-sponsored Chinese aircraft manufacturing concern may soon mount a bid for the assets of now-defunct Eclipse Aviation.

The Albuquerque Journal reports Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China -- an offshoot of the consolidation of the former AVIC I and AVIC II aerospace companies -- has expressed interest in submitting a bid for the troubled planemaker.

As ANN reported, CACC was formed in May 2008, and tasked with producing a large commercial airliner to rival the likes of Boeing and Airbus by 2020. If CACC does submit a bid for Eclipse's assets in the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, it's unclear how a small jet would fit into those plans... though it seems a safe bet China would be interested in certain parts of the aircraft, if not the package as a whole.

Specifically, the Eclipse 500's small Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F turbofans -- arguably the most impressive technology on the entire aircraft, and certainly among the least-problematic -- may raise eyebrows in China, and in the US... where lawmakers would likely express reservations about sharing an item that could be mounted to weaponry, like cruise missiles.

Whether CACC submits a bid will depend on what limits may be imposed on such transfers of technology, sources told the Journal. It's worth noting the US government apparently had no such concerns, however, when Eclipse announced plans last year to build a now-stillborn manufacturing plant in Ulyanovsk, Russia.

Eclipse filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November. That filing was converted to a Chapter 7 liquidation two weeks ago; since then, at least three other entities have risen up with plans to bid for Eclipse's assets, in hopes of salvaging at least part of the company and turn it into a profitable enterprise.

FMI: www.eclipseaviation.com, www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/avic.htm