Russia Sells Its Aeronautical Future

The Russian and Chinese aerospace programs may have found a mutual solution to alleviate their respective problems. Russia's aerospace sector, despite its economic woes, is thriving on the wealth of institutional knowledge and expertise amassed during the Soviet era. Meanwhile, China's, though financially stable, still suffers from the technological deficit that has long plagued it. When Russian President Vladimir Putin heads to Beijing on Saturday to meet with his Chinese counterpart, several key figures from Russia's aerospace industry will join him. The two countries seem ideally poised to cooperate: Russia needs cash, and China needs technology. But for Russia, the long-term stakes of such an arrangement are higher....