Chapter 873: Join if you can’t beat him
Seeing this topic come to an end, Whittle finally had the opportunity to talk about his original intention of coming here.
He took out a few photos from the envelope and laid them out one by one on his desk:
"In recent times, I discovered that Yan Liang has several brand-new verification machines. It was a test flight, so I took some time to take a few photos.”
On the other side, Brin had already written a note and turned his attention to the photos in front of him:
"It looks like a few Flankers produced in China..."
He stopped mid-sentence.
Obviously, things are not that simple:
"Wait..."
Brin picked up one of the photos on the table:
"This aircraft seems to have appeared in last year's military parade..."
"The part between its two inlets is different from the normal mass-produced Flanker. There is a protrusion of unknown purpose. , so there is no way to install the belly tandem pylon."
"That's right."
Whittle nodded:
"I speculate that it may be a sum. Flight test-related equipment, integrated sensors and the like, so this aircraft is actually a technology verification aircraft specially used to test new aviation engines.”
In fact, his speculation was very close to the truth.
Both J-11WS have been modified with an additional pipeline compartment in the belly to facilitate the replacement of the engine to be tested and the modification of the corresponding flight control program.
This is almost the most obvious feature of this model in appearance.
After all, although the J-11B, which also uses the turbofan 10, has been completely transformed in structure, it cannot be seen from its appearance alone.
“So this means that the new engine they publicly displayed last year may be officially put into use soon?”
Brin put the photo back on the table and looked up at Whittle opposite.
As the official overseas representatives of Rolls-Royce, the two of them, and even the British members of the entire Ciro Company, are responsible for certain commercial and technical intelligence collection tasks.
This is also an international practice.
As long as you are not violating the law blatantly, the host country will not stop you.
Anyway, open source intelligence analysis is something that everyone understands tacitly.
And it may not be possible to analyze anything useful.
For example, after last year's military parade, the Americans concluded that "the turbofan 10 uses a CFM56 core machine". The operation was as fierce as a tiger, but it actually helped China a lot.
"According to Chinese practice, at this time, the product is likely to have been equipped with troops in small batches for trial."
Whittle replied:
"Last time After they suddenly stopped purchasing parts from SPEI, I specially studied China’s R&D project process.”
"At that time, their aero engines and aircraft were still being developed by the same company, and the former was not even a completely independent project. But now, they have established a new company to completely separate the work on both sides."
< br>Obviously, he has not stayed in China in vain these years, at least he has a clearer understanding of the situation of the Aerospace Power Group.
“I remember I read the analysis last year, saying that this is an engine that is very similar to the F110 in all aspects?”
Brin is not specialized in technology, but some I still read analytical articles in the industry.
“There were many opinions at the time. Some said it used the CFM56 core machine, while others said it was a copy of the AL31F.”
Whittle wanted to pay more attention to this aspect, so he patiently explained:
"How to put it, later, because Snecma Group was sanctioned by GE, it chose to cooperate with China to improve the M88 engine. The design plan is said to be making good progress. "
"So the current common judgment in the industry is that the Chinese people's new engine is indeed used, or at least refers to the design of CFM56 or F110, otherwise the French cannot be explained. Why did you make this choice?"
That's what he said, but Brin still keenly detected some hints from the old man's words:
"So you don't think so. ”
"Well...I don't have any direct evidence."
Whittle gently touched his chin with one hand, which was his habitual action when he was thinking:
"But from what I can tell As far as we know, China has never been exposed to the F110 series engines in the past, and its understanding of the CFM56 is limited to some highly fragmented information obtained through different channels in the 1980s. As for the use and maintenance of the Boeing 737, this is very important for research and development. It’s not a useful experience in terms of work.”
“According to my personal experience, if you don’t have complete technical information at hand, it’s like the foundation is not strong enough. In many cases, you have to re-reinforce the foundation before building a house. Instead, it would be better to start from scratch, which would reduce a lot of shackles.”
Hearing this, Brin’s face instantly showed an expression of gloating:
"Wait a minute... Then weren't the French deceived by false information?"
Although in today's timeline, the relationship between the British Isles and the European countries is much closer than in the previous life.
But that's only on the official level. For the British, watching the French suffer is still one of the great pleasures in life.
However, Whittle looked quite serious:
"This is the point I want to say today."
The former collected a few photos and put them back in the envelope:
"Only 5 years ago, they could not even produce engines like Spey. They all need to purchase second-hand spare parts in stock through us.”
“But now, no matter what technical route they take, they are already on an equal footing with the French...at least in some respects.”< br>
At this point, he paused for a moment, and then pointed at the report that was placed next to him:
"If we really want to think about the next five years, or beyond, then what we should worry about most is not Airbus or Boeing, but whether the Chinese models will seize the market in large numbers."
< br>After a concise analysis, Brin couldn't help but suppress the smile on his face.
After all, it involves matters related to the company's business.
After a long time, he asked tentatively:
"But the Chinese are currently preparing two domestically produced passenger aircraft models. They are called C808 and C909. They are both copies or upgrades of Russian-made products. There seems to be no room for us to play?”
"That is indeed the case at the moment."
Whittle leaned back on his chair with his upper body:
"But it needs to be noted that the Russians have lost their complete research and development system in the past. Maybe they can be rebuilt one day in the future, but even then, they have missed at least 15-20 years, and it is impossible to keep up with the speed of technological advancement of the Chinese."
"I think that in these two countries. After the passenger aircraft model, the Chinese will definitely consider gradually getting rid of the Russians and seeking more advanced technology. What has happened in the past few years has proved that this process may not be stopped."
"So yours. It means...join if you can’t beat me?”
Brin's tone felt a little tense.
“That’s not what I said.”
Whittle quickly denied:
“I just think that we didn’t block it with technology before, so why not Let’s change our thinking and first stand up and cooperate with them in the civil aviation industry. This will at least ensure that we can get a big piece of the cake.”
At this point, he may feel that he is acting a bit capitulationist. tendency, so I added another sentence:
"Moreover, whether they develop independently or cooperate with the Russians, they are almost completely out of our control. In comparison, it is better for us to be more proactive, so that we can at least exert some influence on them in the future..."< br>
This is true.
But there is always a feeling of "I voted".
“Are you going to write this part into the annual report?”
Brin scratched his head:
"It doesn't count if we say something about cooperative research and development..."
"No, no, no..."
Whittle waved his hand:
" The cooperation I am referring to is not a simple cooperative research and development... but a company jointly established by Rolls-Royce and China Aerospace Power Group like IAE. "
"Of course it cannot be done directly from the aviation industry. To start with something as big as an engine, you can try it out with some scattered, less important projects first..."
Halfway through his words, he was interrupted by Brin:
"Wait, wait, wait..."
"How come this joint venture you are talking about is so like our Ciro?" Company?"
As a result, Whittle made a straightforward statement:
"Of course it is us..."
"If we can become a main body with R&D and production capabilities like IAE, then we don't have to rely on London for everything. By then, the status of you and me will be..."
Whittle did not continue speaking, but stretched his hands flat and made a slight upward movement.
The meaning is self-explanatory.
(End of this chapter)