https://www.scmp.com/rss/521242/feed Tang Meng Kit is a Singaporean freelance analyst and commentator who works as an aerospace engineer. He graduated from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), NTU, Singapore in 2025. en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Tang Meng Kit Tang Meng Kit Last month, the US published the fine print of a US$686 million upgrade deal for Pakistan’s F-16 fighter jets. The deal is for data link systems, new encryption gear and a refit that keeps the jets flying until 2040. The notice says Pakistan can protect the technology to “substantially the same degree” as the US government. The Pakistan Air Force is also the only declared interested buyer of China’s J-35 stealth fighter, a generational leap in technology. The Chinese jet first flew at the Zhuhai... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3371561/pakistan-and-us-factor-china-looks-sell-its-j-35-stealth-jets https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3371561/pakistan-and-us-factor-china-looks-sell-its-j-35-stealth-jets Wed, 21 Oct 2026 21:30:06 +0000 Tang Meng Kit Tang Meng Kit Uzbekistan’s recent confirmation that China’s J-10CE fighters have entered into service in its air force ended months of speculation. It is the latest of three developments that include Pakistan’s use of J-10CEs in combat last year and Bangladesh’s draft procurement paper for the Chinese aircraft. Read separately, each looks like a win for the J-10CE. Taken together, however, they show something narrower: the Chinese aircraft is gaining export traction without yet winning a clean contest against... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3367255/chinas-j-10ce-has-foreign-buyers-not-yet-market https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3367255/chinas-j-10ce-has-foreign-buyers-not-yet-market Mon, 14 Sep 2026 12:30:06 +0000 Tang Meng Kit Tang Meng Kit There is something about the speed of consensus on China’s rocket failures that should give us pause. Within hours of Long March-7A rocket’s disintegration over the South China Sea on August 10, trade reports were pointing to an engine as the likely culprit. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) had said nothing of the kind. An official Xinhua report about three hours after the launch described only “a flight anomaly” and an investigation under way. The cause is unknown,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3364147/chinas-space-race-has-new-problem-finding-room-failure https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3364147/chinas-space-race-has-new-problem-finding-room-failure Mon, 17 Aug 2026 21:30:06 +0000 Tang Meng Kit Tang Meng Kit Last month, China Eastern ordered 25 A330neo jets from Airbus, which come at a catalogue price of US$9.35 billion. The airline, which operates the inaugural commercial routes of the C919, China’s home-grown passenger jet, had placed another Airbus order just three months earlier. Why is this major Chinese airline transferring billions to a European company China’s government is trying to supplant? As a widebody jet, the A330neo competes in a segment where the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3359345/eu-isnt-just-selling-aircraft-china-its-helping-strengthen-competitor https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3359345/eu-isnt-just-selling-aircraft-china-its-helping-strengthen-competitor Sun, 12 Jul 2026 01:30:06 +0000 Tang Meng Kit Tang Meng Kit When Air Force One touched down in Beijing, one of the most photographed passengers was Boeing’s chief executive, Kelly Ortberg, there to close a deal. Washington had come to sell aircraft. Beijing was buying something else. The last time this scene played out in 2017, China signed an agreement for 300 Boeing aircraft. Since then, it has pursued an industrial programme aimed at reducing dependence on precisely such orders. That effort has not failed, but neither has it advanced at the pace... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3354137/boeing-went-china-sell-planes-beijing-buying-something-else https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3354137/boeing-went-china-sell-planes-beijing-buying-something-else Fri, 22 May 2026 01:30:05 +0000 Tang Meng Kit Tang Meng Kit The signal is clear. In the first quarter of this year, just three C919 aircraft were delivered – two to China Southern Airlines and one to Air China. For a Chinese programme expected to deliver more than 30 of these home-grown narrowbody airliners this year, the gap between ambition and reality has opened up quickly. Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) delivered 15 C919s last year, far short of the target of 75 set before supply disruptions forced a reset. Even the modest reported... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3350858/engine-dilemma-lies-heart-successful-take-chinas-c919 https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3350858/engine-dilemma-lies-heart-successful-take-chinas-c919 Fri, 24 Apr 2026 01:30:08 +0000 Tang Meng Kit Tang Meng Kit China’s development of its first widebody passenger jet represents its ambition to compete globally. But lifting the C929 off the ground will require more than just advanced engineering. Supply chain resilience, talent development and global trust will determine if the programme can truly fly. The home-grown C929, developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) and expected to carry up to 440 passengers with a range of 12,000km, is looking to rival the Airbus A350 and Boeing... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3315986/rival-boeing-and-airbus-chinas-c929-needs-more-top-engineering https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3315986/rival-boeing-and-airbus-chinas-c929-needs-more-top-engineering Sat, 28 Jun 2025 21:30:08 +0000 Tang Meng Kit Tang Meng Kit Not long ago, Chinese fighter jets were dismissed as reverse-engineered relics of Soviet design. They appeared modern but lacked combat pedigree. Analysts questioned whether the People’s Liberation Army Air Force could match Western air forces in capability, resilience or technological sophistication. That scepticism appears to be fading. Recent developments show Chinese air power is not only advancing but maturing. With its fifth-generation stealth fighters and sixth-generation designs, China... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3310295/j-10c-success-india-pakistan-clash-testifies-chinas-air-superiority https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3310295/j-10c-success-india-pakistan-clash-testifies-chinas-air-superiority Sat, 17 May 2025 21:30:09 +0000