Chapter 146 The French’s reaction
“I don’t know if the TV signal from China can be received here in Haojiang. If so, I think I would rather see what their own official video looks like. ”
Alex did not touch Allen’s equipment bag, but took off his coat and put on his slippers, and turned on the TV in another corner of the room.
The above happens to be a replay of the news broadcast that day.
“Yes, that’s it.”
he said pointing at the screen.
Although he couldn't understand what the announcer was saying, Allen, who had been lying on the bed just now, got up and came to the TV.
“Damn, this angle is so good, the view is not blocked at all. Where did they set up the camera?”
The French reporter gave a very high opinion from a professional perspective evaluation.
In fact, the CCTV filming location was on the roof of the hotel where Chang Haonan and the others stayed.
It's just that this super-god machine, which was later called "Xiaobailou", has not been discovered by too many people at this time.
Speaking of this, Allen was stunned for a moment, and then quickly started the TV recorder placed below:
“This material is much better than what I shot, it has to be recorded... ”
The two of them had an exquisite division of labor during this trip. To put it simply, Allen was mainly responsible for photography, while Alex, who had served as a pilot in the French army, was responsible for writing.
So the latter’s main focus at this time is on the TV screen.
He was not able to witness the entire flight performance live, so he urgently needs to find inspiration by watching the recording.
“How do you think this plane compares to ours?”
After a long silence, it was Allen who spoke first:
“And, Since they are debuting this model at the air show, they may also have export considerations. Will it compete with the Mirage 2000? "
Alex flew a lot before retiring due to injury? Models naturally have more say in this kind of thing.
These questions from Allen's mouth are obviously a better entry point for them, a French media.
At this time, the flight show replayed on TV was in the most exciting stage of vertical maneuvers, and Alex didn't even hear the voices of his companions behind him clearly.
It wasn’t until after several consecutive actions were completed and the plane re-accelerated to accumulate energy that he finally turned around:
“Sorry, Allen, I was too focused just now. What you asked was What's going on?"
Alan had no choice but to repeat the question again.
"Compared to Mirage 3 and Mirage F1, it is definitely much stronger. As for Mirage 2000..."
Alex held the TV and pondered for a while, as if recalling his past days on the plane:
“Its agility is a little worse than the Mirage 2000. Specifically, its instantaneous turning ability and roll rate are slightly weaker, but the power level of this aircraft is very strong and impressive. , the overall maneuverability should be stronger. If possible, I would like to see the engine model equipped with this aircraft.”
The Mirage 2000’s engine is its most obvious shortcoming, as it takes off normally. An aircraft weighing nearly 14 tons, which is basically the same size as the F16, it is equipped with an M53-P2 engine with only 9.5 tons of thrust, which is almost the second worst among all third-generation aircraft.
“As for the issue of export sales... I’m not very worried. Maneuverability is only one part of the overall performance of the aircraft.”
"We can't see the radar model of this aircraft yet, but what is certain is that currently the Chinese do not have their own medium-range air-to-air missiles, let alone precision-guided weapons suitable for ground attacks. No country will want to pay for it. "We will spend money to purchase an interceptor aircraft that can only operate within visual range." Alex once flew a Mirage 2000 to participate in the Gulf War and has a very deep understanding of the importance of beyond visual range combat and the multi-purpose capabilities of aircraft.
Most of the people who will buy Chinese or French equipment are small and medium-sized countries. It is impossible for them to have enough manpower and material resources to build special fleets with different functions. It is best to just Equip a type of fighter jet, and then complete all tasks from air interception to ground bombing.
From this perspective, the Mirage 2000 is basically the replacement of the F16. Countries that are unable to buy the F16 for various reasons or are unwilling to buy the F16 will basically consider Dassault's products, let alone the J-8C. , even the Su-27 will not be able to threaten the status of these two models in a short period of time.
As a reporter, Allen's understanding of this aspect is basically at the level of an enthusiast, so he will naturally agree with Alex's judgment.
However, his rich experience in the media industry cannot be compared with the latter:
“But their development speed is very fast. I still remember that it should be 1987 when China came to participate in the Paris Air Force for the first time. Zhan, I was also there at that time.”
“To be honest, the things they brought there at that time were just...although I don’t want to comment like this, they were completely scrap metal, at best, they were only around the level of 1960.”
“There is no need to worry too much. Maybe in 10 years they will be able to come up with a newer generation of fighter jets, but by that time we will definitely have been equipped with newer Rafale fighter jets, and we may even have fighter jets like the F22. The fourth generation aircraft.”
As a pilot who has flown Dassault’s family of aircraft from the Super Mystique to the Mirage 2000, Alex is obviously very confident about France’s future fighter development:
"In comparison, I think the helicopter they exhibited this time has a greater impact on us."
"Helicopter?"
Because it was used up halfway through the filming. Storage space, so Allen spent almost half the afternoon fishing and did not visit the indoor exhibition hall of the aviation industry.
On the contrary, Alex, who did not catch the exciting part, looked at all the exhibits on the Chinese side.
“A replica of the AS365 Dolphin, almost identical, with two turboshaft engines, 4-blade rotor, ducted fan tail rotor...”
He carried a camera that used film, so he couldn't take out the photos immediately, so he had to describe it roughly in words:
"I hope that the Aerospace Company will include it in the contract they signed with China. We have not forgotten to make restrictions, otherwise if they sell helicopters that are exactly the same as ours at a lower price, it may have a great impact on the market.”
“Actually... even if the contract is signed, "I'm afraid it's difficult to completely restrict it." Allen doesn't think there is any real restriction on things like contracts:
"Israel has also exported copies of our Super Mystery and Phantom 3 before, but in the end it was just that. Let it go. The arms trade does not need to comply with many commercial terms."
"Okay, you are right."
Alex shrugged:
"But you gave me a heads up. I have already thought about what to write in this column."
"Oh?"< br>
Ellen, who had just lay back on the bed, suddenly sat up again:
“What do you want to write?”
"On behalf of the Chinese people, I would like to thank the short-sighted fools in the Ministry of National Defense and Congress because they destroyed the Mirage 4000 project, so soon our air force will become the weakest among all major countries in the world!"
Alex suddenly danced and roared.
"Uh... calm down first." Allen was frightened by his companion's exaggerated movements and stepped back. At the same time, he thought of a way to comfort him as quickly as possible:
"Looking on the bright side, no matter what, there are still British people who can give us the truth."
Unexpectedly, Alex became even more excited:
"You actually think that Britain can be considered a major country in the world?"
(End of Chapter)