The company reviewed the involvement in light aircraft manufacturing and requested financial help from the British Government.

If California loses aircraft manufacturing, he said, the whole country will suffer.

But the company may drop out of civilian aircraft manufacturing, leaving one competitor fewer in an already highly concentrated market.

At issue is whether the sides can renegotiate a 1992 agreement that outlines support given for aircraft manufacturing.

Agreements in the fields of aircraft manufacturing, defense, technology, space exploration and nuclear energy, followed.

Yesterday's announcement signals that aircraft manufacturing will increasingly be a competition among nations.

Since the 1920s, motion pictures, petroleum and aircraft manufacturing have been major industries.

Earlier top officials of the company have had backgrounds in other areas, such as aircraft manufacturing.

If so, it would follow a trend for Russian businesses, from oil to aircraft manufacturing, to form huge monopolies.

The 1.8 million-square-foot aircraft manufacturing plant closed in 1988.