Chapter 888 It Makes Sense to Equip a Business Jet with a Laser Targeting Pod, Right?

Serge Dassault's voice was not loud when he said this, but the people around him heard it clearly.

Everyone is generally open to this matter.

Making money is not bad.

Moreover, although GE has now relaxed the conditions for cooperation, after such a round of repetition, both Dassault and Snecma will inevitably have the mentality of being bitten by a snake once and being afraid of the rope for ten years.

At least in the field of military models, they have to think twice before cooperating with the Americans in the future.

Of course, more importantly, the current M88-2 engine has a relatively obvious Chinese design style.

Even if GE can really change its past and turn back, it is definitely not an easy thing to continue to develop on the current basis.

As for rolling back to the previous version and starting a new business...

The French are a little timid, but they are not stupid.

As we all know, in the field of engineering, if a system can work normally, try not to touch it.

Although until now, Dassault still couldn't figure out how the Chinese could make the M88 engine completely transformed in less than three quarters, but since the test results were all smooth, it would be better to let it continue to be smooth...

The entire Rafale project has consumed too much energy and resources of Dassault himself and Dassault, and it can't afford another round of tossing.

Therefore, everyone turned their attention to Ian Vesta.

As the technical representative of Snecma, he was the only one among all the people present who had long-term contact and technical exchanges with the Chinese side.

Vesta, who was being stared at by several people, had already prepared himself to express his opinion, so he cleared his throat and said:

"From what I have learned and seen in this period, the Chinese aviation engine technology should have just developed in recent years."

"Uh... of course we know this."

Dassault showed a helpless expression and interrupted Vesta's speech:

"And I also want to know the reason for their rapid progress, but at least now, we should still focus on more realistic issues."

The M88 engine is very important to the Snecma Group, but it is not the most important.

After all, there is the huge sales volume of CFM56 as a backup.

Although after the farce in the past two years, everyone has basically seen through that this "jointly developed" model is basically completely dominated by General Electric, but no matter what, the money that should be distributed is always the same.

However, Rafale is basically a lifeline project for Dassault, at least for Dassault Aviation Department.

At present, the sales of Mirage 2000 are being squeezed by the increasingly cheaper F16 and Su-27 series, and the new ultra-long-range business jet product line is under development. The entire civil aviation business is in a stage where income is not enough to cover expenses.

Serge Dassault cannot help but be anxious.

"I know, I know."

Vestal raised his hand and pressed it down, signaling Dassault to calm down:

"I want to say that the Chinese are indeed quite unique in the field of aeroengines, especially in the field of aeroengine design, but at least for now, their development is still quite unbalanced."

"Although the Chinese have reserved many areas that are not open to us, it is not difficult to find that they are still producing several relatively backward models so far, such as WS9, which imitates the British Spey MK202, WJ6, which imitates the Soviet AI20M, WP13, which imitates the Soviet P11F300, WP8, which imitates the PD3M..."

"Compared to the new turbofan engine used in the Chinese-made Su-27, and the WP14 that appeared a few years earlier, these engines are completely the products of the previous, or even the previous era. products, which are completely outdated in terms of technology, but have not been completely eliminated. "

"The reason for this situation is that they now have a... or several, anyway not many, very capable R&D teams, so they can come up with several new products with first-class performance, but the level of the entire industry is still very low, and there are not enough capable and experienced engineers to apply the advanced technologies in these new products to other models in a short period of time..."

"..."

"So, we can seize this time difference, come up with something they are interested in, and form a community of interests with them through cooperative projects... just like the Russians did..."

It should be said that Vesta has almost touched the essence of the matter with only the limited knowledge and experience in these few months, and his level is indeed extraordinary.

The suggestions made are also very reasonable--

Compared with the simple form of payment and goods between buyers and sellers, cooperation in which both parties get what they need is obviously a more solid relationship.

The typical example is Snecma itself.

Although they and General Electric have had many conflicts over the M88 engine issue, in order to cooperate and make money, no one has ever thought of making trouble on the CFM56 project.

The only question is...

"So, Mr. Vesta."

Edsteiner, who had been listening to the audience, frowned:

"You... or of course we, what is it that the Chinese would definitely be interested in?"

"..."

This somewhat heart-wrenching question made the atmosphere fall into a cold atmosphere for a while.

In fact, there is indeed a lot of technical cooperation between China and France.

But France is France, and Dassault is Dassault.

They do not have a platform like the Aviation Industry Group or the Import and Export Corporation that can coordinate the interests of different domestic enterprises.

Companies such as Dassault, Snecma, and Thales have a lot of historical connections and have been cooperating for almost half a century, so they can sit down and talk together to slightly coordinate their interests. .

But companies like Eurocopter and Airbus obviously cannot take chestnuts from the fire for the benefit of Dassault.

And this involves another, more macro issue.

After all, the size of the entire country of France is still too small.

An area of ​​550,000 square kilometers and a population of 60 million.

And there is also a higher education enrollment rate that is not outstanding among developed countries.

Against this background, France has not given up its efforts to build a relatively complete industrial system, but it also wants to become a leader in the European integration process.

As a result, there are many things that appear to be French.

But it’s actually European.

Or of the world.

Even American.

The difference may not seem big at ordinary times, but when it comes to critical situations, it is often inevitable to be at a loss.

The CFM56 is certainly more advanced than the PS90A.

But when the latter is in a hurry, they can use their wealth to make deals.

It's useless no matter how urgent the former is.

Snecma said it didn't count at all.

"I remember..."

Finally, it was Dassault who broke the silence first:

"Many years ago, China should have introduced a production license for the Arriel series turboshaft engines?"

He looked at Vesta:

"Can you work hard on this?"

Turbomeca, which develops the Arriel engine, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Snecma, so it is naturally better to work within the framework of the same group.

"You mean Ahaye 1C?"

Vista nodded:

"This has indeed happened, but on the one hand, they have been able to independently produce most of the components. On the other hand... due to the impact of competing products, the importance of this project in China seems to be gradually decreasing..."

Originally, the Z-9 was China's only "domestic and usable" helicopter model for a long time, and it still had a certain status within the aviation industry system.

However, the good times did not last long.

Driven by someone, Bingfei Group has successively launched two new projects in the past two years, the 7-ton AC139 and the 10-ton NH90/Zhi-12, which were jointly developed.

The former is about to deliver its first product to customers, while the latter has also entered the finalization and identification process.

Especially straight 12.

After the temporary replacement of TV3-117VM, although the appearance is top-heavy due to the enlarged engine size, which looks quite weird compared to the original NH90, and the range has also been reduced, it is still a 10-ton helicopter after all.

The operating habits of the front three-point landing gear and side doors + tail hatch are similar to those of the Mi 8 series, which is already equipped with a lot of equipment.

Even with great efforts, there is still a certain potential for plateau deployment.

She immediately became the new Britney.

The Navy has even made new requirements for the hangar and helicopter deck area of ​​next-generation combat ships.

Although the army has no money for the time being, like a young lady who has been to a big city, after she has set her sights high, she no longer values ​​the honest people in the village.

There is very little interest in the Z-9 modified armed helicopter plan.

In this way, even if the Zhi-9, which has become Mrs. Niu, has not completely lost its value, at least it no longer needs to use its 4-ton body to undertake the tasks of 6-ton or even 10-ton helicopters as planned in the past.

Naturally, the urgency is not that high...

"Speaking of cooperative research and development..."

After another period of silence, Ed Steiner suddenly raised his head:

"I remember that the contact between us and China last year started in the name of jointly developing business jets?"

"Yeah...but what's the point?"

This matter was just an excuse in the first place. After the official establishment of a bridge with the Hangfa Group, no one mentioned it.

"What if... we give up some interests in the Rafale or Falcon projects and bring Thales Group in?"

Ed Steiner's mind suddenly opened:

"The two Russian-made passenger planes currently produced by China have three-person cockpits. More advanced cockpit equipment will definitely be needed in the future..."

"Even if it is not needed... Thales's photoelectric system is certainly attractive enough..."

"Photoelectric system?"

Dassault was a little confused for a moment:

“Why would a business jet need something like this?”

"Let me borrow a name..."

Ed Steiner replied nonchalantly:

"If you have to find a reason..."

He raised his head and thought for a few seconds:

“In order to ensure the safety of VIP passengers taking off and landing in bad weather, business jets can use a day and night targeting pod to observe runway conditions, or use a low-altitude navigation pod to avoid obstacles to avoid accidents like Air France 296... It is also very common. Reasonable, right?”