The military-industrial scientific research system of the academic master.

Chapter 1056 Dassault's Thoughts

It was not until this time that Liu Yongquan realized that the two people's brain waves were completely out of sync.

What Ed Steiner was talking about happened during the Iran-Iraq War in the 80s.

At that time, both sides were engaged in a missile ship attack war, hoping to gain a war advantage by strangling the other's oil exports.

But anyone who takes a look at the map will see that in this struggle, Persia, which occupies almost the entire eastern coast of the Persian Gulf, has a huge advantage.

They only need to deploy land-based anti-ship missiles or even coastal artillery on the coast to block the Strait of Hormuz, a key choke point.

The other side, located in the deepest part of the bay, needs to dispatch the air force for a long-range raid to achieve the same attack effect.

Even though they had the support of the entire Western world, war resources, especially anti-ship missile carriers, were still stretched thin.

At that time, the main model used for ship-raiding warfare was the Mirage F1, which could only carry one Exocet missile on its belly each time it was deployed. It often took a two- or even four-plane formation to completely sink an oil tanker.

Such a large-scale attack is easy to be discovered, and then be intercepted by the enemy...

In short, in order to improve strike efficiency and concealment, they experimentally converted a Falcon 50 business jet into an anti-ship missile carrier.

Not only is its bomb load doubled compared to the Mirage F1, but its radar signal characteristics are also almost the same as those of a normal small passenger plane.

Even if the other party has some suspicions, they may not dare to open fire on a suspected "civilian target".

All in all, the plan seemed to go perfectly.

As for the results...

Indeed, we have achieved brilliant results.

The problem is, it's too brilliant.

The first time the aircraft was deployed, it fired two Exocet missiles at the USS Stark, a US Navy frigate escorting in the Persian Gulf, and both missiles hit the target...

It can only be said that American warships are more reliable than British warships after all, and the krypton gold damage control during World War II had not yet expired. After being hit by two Exocet shells, the USS Stark managed to survive without sinking, but in the end 37 people died and the Stark was also severely damaged.

The whole process was full of blunders, which really made for a great show.

Liu Yongquan finally bit his tongue hard to control himself from laughing out loud.

Really, I think of happy things.

However, looking at Liu Yongquan who was hiding his face to hold back his laughter, Edelsteiner couldn't hold it in anymore and looked a little annoyed:
"What's so funny about that?"

Opinions vary as to whether the attack was intentional.

But there is no doubt that this incident brought considerable fame to the Falcon series of business jets, which were still in the early stages of development at the time.

However, it is not necessarily a good reputation.

The entire modification process was carried out by Dassault.

Using civil aviation identities to cover up military missions is itself a very sensitive topic.

That was back in the 80s, when everyone was generally wild.

It's the 21st century now. If we continue to do this, we will probably be drowned in spit.

The reputation of Falcon 8Z is no longer necessary.

For Ed Steiner, this was naturally an absolutely unacceptable result.

"Uh... no, you misunderstood."

Liu Yongquan gently pinched the side of his face to restore the facial muscles that were somewhat stiff from trying not to laugh:

"My superiors mean to use the Falcon 8Z as a platform to develop a series of special aircraft, such as... early warning aircraft."

After a brief pause, he continued to explain:

"You know, although this deterrent action did not encounter much resistance, it did cause some deterrence to many countries... especially those in the Gulf region."

"The coalition forces deployed nearly 50 early warning aircraft to command 2000 to 3000 combat flights per day, shortening the formation time of the discovery-strike chain from one and a half hours during Desert Storm to less than minutes, and significantly reducing the probability of misfires."

"So after this war, the international community, especially some wealthy small and medium-sized countries, will likely set off a wave of buying early warning aircraft. If we can seize this opportunity, it will be a market with great potential..."

"..."

Ed Steiner now realized that he had made a big mistake and scratched his head in embarrassment.

Fortunately, the other party's proposal was quite attractive and quickly attracted attention.

"AWACS..."

He looked at the Falcon 8Z parked less than ten meters away and blurted out subconsciously:

“Isn’t it a bit too small?”

Falcon 8Z is actually the Z9 plan in the original Falcon project, but it was renamed 9Z because the number 8 is unlucky in some cultures.

Although it is the largest model in the portfolio, it is still a business jet after all, and is not even as good as a regional airliner.

The maximum take-off weight of less than 40 tons seems a bit underwhelming among today's early warning aircraft.

But as soon as he said this, Ed Steiner realized that something was wrong.

The Swedish Saab 340 has a take-off weight of only 15 tons, but it can still be converted into an ASC-890 early warning aircraft.

Although the flight range is close to three digits, and it only has airborne radar functions, and command and control need to be downlinked to the ground station for operation, it at least shows that it is feasible.

And considering that the Falcon 8Z is twice the size of the other, it is even possible to retain its full functionality.

At this time, Liu Yongquan also clapped his hands beside him:

“It’s because it’s small that it has a market!”

"Who in any decent country would be willing to..."

He originally wanted to say, who would be willing to purchase from foreign countries if they were decent? At least they should try to develop their own early warning aircraft.

Even the next door English team has two generations of products, the Tangle AEW3 and the Shalkton AEW2, which are uglier than ever.

But on second thought, this statement might be a bit too insulting.

After all, the French really don't have any idea at all.

So I finally changed my tune:

"In short, the biggest advantage of business jets is that they are small in size, low in cost, easy to service, and can maintain a longer range and longer air time than most large passenger aircraft. Even with only two aircraft in rotation, they can maintain 24-hour uninterrupted patrols. This is very attractive to many countries..."

And Ed Steiner just thought of this point.

For most countries, a detection distance of four or five hundred kilometers and the ability to process hundreds or thousands of targets are not necessary. It is enough to deter neighboring countries with which they have conflicts of interest.

Therefore, strategic early warning aircraft weighing hundreds or even two hundred tons are a serious waste of performance for these users.

On the contrary, economical and affordable ones will be more popular.

Moreover, the upgraded Rafale F2 will soon enter the delivery cycle, and many potential users have begun to include this model in their option list again.

If at this time, Dassault can launch an early warning aircraft with all-round performance...

Then it is obvious that the effect of 1+1>2 can be achieved.

Especially since the Mirage 2000 is already an active equipment in many countries in the Middle East, it can bring many advantages.

Moreover, the French Air Force itself no longer needs to worry about whether to spend huge sums of money to upgrade the E3F.

The money the Americans asked for was enough to buy several new planes.

"I……"

Ed Steiner blurted out his agreement.

But at this moment, he suddenly had a different idea——

As a technician of Dassault, Edsteiner first approached Huaxia, just thinking of giving it a try and asking the other party to help Snecma solve the reliability problem of M88.

But this search was not a big deal, as it was like opening Pandora's box, leading to a lot of subsequent events.

In the end, not only did the M88 and SeA650 become other people's engines, but even the Falcon Z project inexplicably made the Chinese the second largest participant.

Almost lost control.

Moreover, the core technology is still in the hands of the other party.

This situation is obviously not good for Dassault.

And now, the Chinese have taken the initiative to propose to develop an early warning aircraft based on the Falcon Z?
I'm afraid he has no good intentions?

You know, France has no experience in developing early warning aircraft.

We must rely on others for onboard equipment.

So, in the entire AWACS project, China's contribution accounts for 100% of the mission payload and 30% of the platform...

Wouldn't the plane become someone else's?

Besides, the Chinese’s own early warning aircraft has only been in service for less than two years, and no one knows its performance.

In comparison, Sweden, which I just thought of, seems to be a better partner.

At least we can share the project leadership equally.

Moreover, Ericsson's products have been in use for many years, and at least I haven't heard of any fatal defects.

Thinking of this, Edsteiner immediately changed his words:

"I'm afraid I can't give you an immediate answer on this matter. I need to report the situation to the group headquarters and let the board of directors discuss it before making a decision..."

As a veteran who has been in the business for decades, he did not say anything final.

After all, Dassault has never had in-depth cooperation with Ericsson in the past, and does not even know whether the other party has the intention to cooperate.

If something goes wrong, leave some room for maneuver now so that you can have a way out later...

However, Ed Steiner changed his mind at the last minute after all, and his acting was a bit stiff.

Although Liu Yongquan on the opposite side did not fully guess what he was thinking, it was not difficult to see that the so-called board discussion was just an excuse to delay time.

Of course, we are all decent people and we see the truth but don’t say it out loud.

He just secretly kept the situation in mind and planned to go back and ask Mr. Chang if he had any countermeasures...

(End of this chapter)