Chapter 525 Nh90 Helicopter, looking to the east
“Actually...”
Pierre stretched out his hand to rub his chin, hesitated for a while and then continued:
"I think there's nothing wrong with that."
Le Maire slowly turned his head and looked at the other party with a ghostly expression:
"Do you really know that it is the NH90 project?"
"Of course."
Because the Z-9WY had landed on the tarmac again, the two of them also looked at it from the sky again. Back to the ground.
Pierre nodded as he walked forward.
"NH90, NATO Helicopter90, NATO utility helicopter."
Le Maire, who quickly stepped forward to catch up with the opponent, specifically emphasized NATO:
"Are you going to cooperate with the Chinese to produce helicopters for the NATO system?"
Although there are also NH90s There are plans for a civilian model, but the development project itself is still a military model, and it was also the Ministry of Defense of several NATO countries that ultimately provided funding.
Cooperating with China on such a project is simply whimsical in Le Maire's eyes.
"NATO helicopters...that sounds nice."
Le Maire mentioned the cooperative nature of the NH90 helicopter, which made the originally calm Pierre very angry:
“I know that you are now the vice president of the French Aerospace Industry Association, and you need to consider more things than you did back then. There is a lot more time in the enterprise."
He turned around and stared at his childhood friend:
"But Guillaume, you must know that the aviation manufacturing industry, said In the end, we have to let technology speak for itself.”
“The aircraft will not care how noble your ideals of uniting Europe are, nor how much effort you have put into bridging the differences between you. It will only follow the rules. The principles of physics work accurately, precisely, and rigidly.”
"And my friend, politics cannot change physics."
Some fierce words made Le Maire fall into silence.
Perhaps seeing his wavering, Pierre continued:
“The NH90 project started 13 years ago, and soon the British withdrew from the project without any surprise. , then the Germans, and then the Germans rejoined, and now each country has its own Xiao Jiujiu in the project, and I watched with my own eyes as the design became fragmented through compromise after compromise."
“In order to promote their automatic carbon fiber laying machine, the Dutch require the aircraft body to use a large amount of one-time thermoformed carbon fiber material, which is called weight reduction.”
"However, the use of large-area carbon fiber is not mature at all. It will not only reduce the structural strength of the aircraft, but also cause the structural parts of the aircraft body to be unable to be repaired or replaced. Once damaged, it will lead to the entire scrap."
"This is very important for passenger aircraft. Of course it doesn’t matter, but we are designing a helicopter. Even if it is a civilian helicopter, it is impossible to avoid damage during low-altitude missions, let alone a military helicopter?”
“By then, the American Black Hawk will The Russian Hippo only needs to replace a piece of skin, but the NH90 needs to replace the entire body made of carbon fiber? This is not in line with the requirements of the use environment. "
"And the Italians, they. The helicopter is required to use the T700-T7E engine. It is said that it has better performance and higher power output, but in fact it is only because the Fiat Group is involved in the development and production of this model. "
"The American engine is even calibrated. They are all made in English, and it is impossible for us to design a transmission system that is perfectly compatible with both RTM322 and T700 engines. We can only make sacrifices in transmission efficiency.”
"And the Germans..."
"..."
Pierre spent the next ten minutes criticizing each of these "allies" for what they had brought to the NH90 project. trouble.
Finally, he summarized the current status of the project:
“If I continue like this, of course I can build NH90, but I’m afraid it won’t meet the requirements of any country. , let alone challenge the status of the Black Hawk helicopter.”
"I have no problem with international cooperation, but we need truly meaningful cooperation that can improve the level of the project, rather than inviting a bunch of bullshit who keep wrangling for their own interests to delay R&D progress."
< br>"If it's what you want, what are you going to do?"
This time, Le Maire did not refute directly, but first asked the other party's opinion - as a person who came from a technical position As an executive, he is more rational than most of his peers.
Of course what Pierre just said makes sense.
Otherwise, a relatively uncomplicated 10-ton helicopter project like the NH90 would not have been delayed for nearly 15 years.
You must know that the "90" in its name refers to the 1990s.
However, it is almost the turn of the millennium, and the test flight process is not even halfway through, and there are still many problems that need to be reworked.
However, perhaps because he was afraid that the other party would say something shocking, he then added:
“It is politically feasible to agree in advance that it is politically feasible to completely abandon allies and engage in independent research and development. Very low.”
"I said, I have no objection to international cooperation."
Pierre's expression also softened a lot:
"But we must refer to the Airbus model."
“Countries can have equal status in cooperation, but in terms of technology, especially the overall design of the aircraft, a subject must be established.”
“Several other countries that are willing to participate can provide For the technology required by the overall design, we will also select suppliers from partner countries that meet the requirements. We will not let them work in vain. Those who are unwilling to participate can also simply invest and distribute the profits according to proportion, or transfer some production links to Leave it to their country to complete.”
"But if you are unwilling to do these things, then get out of the project. It is better than dragging it out until the end and creating a flashy waste. We French people will not be able to live without leaving NATO. Besides, there will always be people who will choose to stay. ”
He said all the thoughts that had been in his mind for a long time.
"What about the Chinese people?"
Le Maire asked:
"It is definitely impossible for the Chinese people to conduct military cooperation with us within the framework of NATO cooperation. You How are you going to get them involved?”
Obviously, he had begun to seriously consider the plan proposed by Pierre.
If nothing else, "making helicopters quieter" is undoubtedly very attractive.
Compared with the Black Hawk, the current disadvantages of the NH90 are that it is not compact enough, has poor maintainability, and the door area on the side is small, and the shooting range of the door machine gun is limited.
The advantage is that the cabin is larger and there is a tailgate that can carry large cargo.
The maintenance problem can be solved by replacing carbon fiber with high-performance lithium aluminum alloy, but even so, each can only be regarded as having its own advantages and disadvantages.
In this case, if a "quiet" king bomb can be added, it will undoubtedly be a surefire winner.
Facing this question from his friend, Pierre was well prepared:
“I studied the agreement that the European Aviation Agency and Airbus reached with China last year and found that they liked it very much. "Technology for technology' type of cooperation."
"Of course, NH90 is a military project after all, and it is not convenient to engage in in-depth cooperation like aviation meteorological safety issues, but it can be reduced in scale."
"For example, let them provide a complete noise reduction solution for NH90. In exchange, we can also provide them with technical assistance on a peer-to-peer project and solve problems on a case-by-case basis without teaching each other methods."< br>
"In this way, only one joint venture company is needed to complete the entire process. After the cooperation is over, the company breaks up, and God will not find any traces."
Le Maire finally saw that the other party was Come prepared.
Not only the method, but also how to deal with the funeral has been planned.
It is definitely not a plan that can be thought of on the spur of the moment.
However, after a few minutes of hesitation, he slowly said:
"As for the way of cooperation with other allies, I need to go back and discuss it with my colleagues from the Aerospace Industry Association and the Ministry of National Defense. I can't guarantee you the specific results for the time being."
"But let China You can start preparing for the noise reduction solution for NH90 when you return."
"I will convince those stubborn ones"
(End of this chapter)<. br>