ANKARA and WASHINGTON After several years of trying to launch their new airborne early warning platform, Boeing and Northrop Grumman appear to have maneuvered the 737-based system onto solid ground with a key win in Turkey and an imminent decision by Australia on how many of the aircraft to purchase.

WASHINGTON Russian officials say they’re going to lend China two airborne radar surveillance aircraft for three years and then sell them advanced, $200-million versions of the airplane in a deal similar to that offered by Israel which the U.S. fought hard and believes it has killed.

WASHINGTON The projected price tag of the low-end version of the Joint Strike Fighter has grown 10% over the baseline, and the Pentagon is primarily blaming higher than expected labor and overhead costs. But contractors competing for the work say that isn’t so.

WASHINGTON Fearful of being shut out of the European aerospace market, Raytheon managers are looking for potential joint venture opportunities or strategic partners to cement transatlantic industrial ties. The recognition that more formal arrangements will be needed in the future grew out of the company’s failed bid in the British Beyond Visual-Range Air-to-Air Missile competition, which it lost to an all-European consortium.

KUALA LUMPUR The opposing teams in the great aircraft manufacturers playoff each gained points last week when Qantas announced $4.6 billion worth of orders for a mix of 31 Airbus and Boeing aircraft as part of its 10-year fleet modernization plan.