July 23 (Reuters) - Aerospace leaders are meeting at the

Farnborough Airshow in southern England this week amid rising

geopolitical tensions and supply chain challenges.

Following are highlights of Reuters' coverage of the event.

LATEST NEWS

* A plunge in Ryanair's quarterly profits cast a shadow over the

opening of the Farnborough Airshow on Monday, where aviation

leaders were already fretting about supply chain snags, aircraft

delays and floundering plans to cut emissions.

* Demand for air travel has normalised after a years-long boom

following the COVID-19 pandemic as holidaymakers and travellers

baulk at higher fares, executives at major airlines said.

* Korean Air has struck a deal to buy 20 Boeing

777X and 20 787-10 jets, the South Korean airline said.

* Vietnamese budget carrier VietJet said it had signed

a contract with Airbus to buy 20 A330neos.

* British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he wanted to put "on

record" just how important the Global Combat Air Programme

(GCAP) was, dampening speculation that the fighter jet project

with Japan and Italy could be axed following a defence review.

STRATEGY

* Boeing ( BA ) is seeing a significant improvement in production flow

at its 737 MAX factory, its new commercial planes chief said, as

the U.S. planemaker battles a safety crisis.

* Airbus is looking at opportunities to create scale in defence,

space and particularly satellites markets, its CEO said.

* There are some signs of a decline in airline yields but this

is not yet affecting demand for new aircraft, Airbus's

planemaking chief said.

* Boeing ( BA )-owned Wisk Aero expects its pilotless air-taxi to begin

carrying passengers "later in the decade" as it works with the

U.S. regulator to secure approvals, its CEO said.

* Boeing's ( BA ) commercial airplane chief said the planemaker had

settled on the design to address an engine anti-ice system that

has significantly delayed certification of the 737 MAX 7.

* The head of Boeing's ( BA ) defense unit said the planemaker was

still "fighting through challenges" in building two delayed U.S.

presidential aircraft known as Air Force One.

COMMERCIAL PLANE, ENGINE DEALS

* Japan Airlines ( JPNRF ) has ordered 10 Boeing 787-9 aircraft

and agreed options for 10 more.

* U.S. aero-engine maker Pratt & Whitney is set to

announce on Tuesday that aircraft leasing company Avolon will

select its GTF engines to power 80 Airbus A320neo aircraft, an

industry source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

* Turkish Airlines won't announce a plane order at

this week's Farnborough Airshow, with a deal for narrowbody jets

still held up by negotiations over engines, its chairman said.

* U.S. cargo carrier National Airlines said it had agreed to buy

four Boeing 777 Freighters.

* Luxair has placed an order for two Boeing 737-10 airplanes

with options for two more.

* Airbus is nearing a deal to sell about 30 A330neo jets to

Saudi budget carrier Flynas, industry sources said.

* Virgin Atlantic is close to placing a top-up order for an

unspecified number of Airbus A330neos, industry sources said.

DEFENCE

* The British Army has carried out its first test of Raytheon's

anti-drone laser weapon from a military vehicle.

* Britain's Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), a partnership

with Japan and Italy to build a new fighter jet, is heading for

the launch of the design and development phase in 2025 "at

pace", a BAE Systems managing director said.

* Brazilian planemaker Embraer ( ERJ ) signed the contract to

formalize the sale of nine C-390 Millennium military aircraft to

the Netherlands and Austria.

* The GCAP is being developed such that it is open for other

partners to join, a director of the programme from Leonardo

said.

* British defence minister John Healey has announced the renewal

of a 6.5 billion pound ($8.40 billion), 10-year complex weapons

partnership with MBDA, the European missile systems company.

(Compiled by Mark Potter)