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

Chapter 1444: We Can’t Let the French Get Away With It For Nothing

Thanks to the existence of Xiro Company, Rolls-Royce has maintained a high-level office in Haojing for a long time, so the entire itinerary is at least not completely passively dependent on Chang Haonan's arrangements.

For example, their residence was personally decided by the British representatives George Breen and Adam Whittle.

The two had not undergone any job transfers in the past decade, but their ranks had risen steadily with the rise of the Xiro Company. They had grown from two unpopular marginalized people to first-level supervisors who were on par with Panos Watson.

They can also be considered as beneficiaries of the progress of the times.

Of course, after all, this is still on Chinese territory, and if they really want to do something like eavesdropping, it cannot be stopped at all. It makes no essential difference who decides where to live.

But it is human nature to trust one's own people. After this, at least the Rolls-Royce delegation can be more relaxed on a psychological level.

Therefore, after the event ended that evening, the group returned to the hotel and got together overnight to discuss how to deal with the formal negotiations that would begin tomorrow.

"The engineering team has received the design documents for the compressor part of the AE1500 engine from China, and confirmed Dr. Partridge's guess this afternoon."

Bodi opened a project file on his computer and projected it directly onto the wall next to him:

"This component in front of the intercooler circuit is called a condensate control module. It is structurally just an additional set of condensers combined with three three-way valves, but it can ensure that the temperature of the wet air entering the intercooler is just lower than the dew point temperature corresponding to the condition. It is equivalent to turning the cycle parameter into a single variable that is only related to the external ambient temperature, which greatly improves the stability under complex working conditions. In comparison..."

He said as he switched the screen to another project file:
"Our solution is to directly modify the intercooler cycle parameters according to changes in external conditions. Although the idea is simpler, the control logic is very complex. Under certain working conditions, one-to-one correspondence is even required. Problems are prone to occur when dealing with environments that have not been tested in detail..."

After saying this, he glanced meaningfully at Patrick who was sitting next to him with a gloomy face.

The latter made a constipated expression and complained angrily:

"When the Royal Navy first made the request, they only set the upper limit of the ambient temperature at 35°C. We had already made redundancies in the design process. Who would have thought that they would drive the ship at more than 30 knots near the equator?"

If you really want to be picky, what Patrick said is not wrong. After all, there was a problem with Party A's requirements, and he, as Party B, was just following the rules.

But from the perspective of solving the problem, it is undoubtedly shirking responsibility.

“What about MT30?”

Bodi did not give in either, and said sarcastically:
"Are we mobilizing so many troops here just because of the WR-21 failure? If the entire technical route is fine, then recalibrating the parameters should solve the problem?"

Partridge's lips moved slightly, but in the end he couldn't say anything to refute.

The company's legal department was in charge of arguing over the responsibility for the failure of the Courageous. As a technician, it was unacceptable for him to allow such an obvious loophole to occur and eventually be installed on the ship.

The previous rhetoric may fool outsiders, but don't fool yourself.

At this time, seeing the tense situation, Elginbridge also reached out and knocked on the table, trying to smooth things over:

"It won't be too late to learn from our failure after we return. Now let's focus on the conditions of the Chinese..."

With the leader's words, the two people who had been displeased with each other all the way had to put their dispute aside for the time being.

"Considering that there is not enough time left for MT30 to modify the design, we can be the first to raise the bargaining chips for this transaction, but at least, the conditions we offer cannot be too far from the other party's expectations. It is best to just meet the basic expectations of the Chinese side. Otherwise, it will be difficult to quickly reach a cooperation, or a lot of unnecessary costs will be paid."

After a brief pause, Elginbridge continued:
"The only thing we can be sure of is that they are very dissatisfied with their current position in the international aviation industry, so they want to participate more deeply in the formulation of relevant aviation industry standards on the existing basis. However, at the dinner just now, I tried many times to find out their specific requirements from him..."

As president of the powertrain business unit and a member of the board of directors, he has abundant resources at his disposal, but no one wants to be taken advantage of.

"I remember that a few years ago, they proposed an environmental standard that was more stringent than the current CAEP6, didn't they?"

Partridge took the lead in proposing:
"Since China is complaining about its lack of voice, the new CAEP8 standard is being formulated. We can take the initiative to propose and put the other party's new standard on top, which can be regarded as a milestone breakthrough for China... I know they valued these things in the past."

After the words were spoken, the other people in the room all looked thoughtful.

Only Bodi sneered:
"Your understanding is a bit outdated, Dr. Partridge..." Although his tone was not as sarcastic as at the beginning, it still contained a hint of provocation:
"It's just an emission standard, and it's a standard that is beneficial to both of us. If it was put in place fifteen years ago, it might have satisfied the appetite of the Chinese people..."

Obviously, he was not optimistic about the proposal.

"What's your opinion?"

Elginbridge paid no attention to the other party's tone.

"Dr. Chang, who led the team to greet us today, and I are old acquaintances."

Bodi pointed out his "authority" status right from the start:
"I can guarantee that the Chinese are no longer satisfied with the small market for regional aircraft and have begun to set their sights on mainline aircraft."

Before Elginbridge could speak, another voice in the corner took the lead in expressing his agreement:
"I think Director Bodie is right."

It's Adam Whittle.

His current rank is half a level higher than Bodi, but because he has been away from the British headquarters for a long time, he has never expressed his opinion before.

But now that China's actions are mentioned, I am no longer sleepy:

"According to the information we have obtained, the Chinese are preparing a trunk airliner model that is completely comparable to the Boeing 737max and Airbus A320neo. They may have even entered the plan preparation stage. However, they have always kept a low profile, so they have not yet started to promote it in a big way."

"Considering that several Chinese airlines are already operating about 60 C909 passenger aircraft and more than 120 C909 freighters at this stage, their new model will definitely not be limited to domestic users. If they want to enter the international market, the first thing they must do is to obtain airworthiness certification from the European Union or the United States, just like they did before launching the C808."

"Then we can..."

Elginbridge originally wanted to say that they could use their influence in EASA to help the Chinese company's new passenger aircraft obtain relevant certificates.

But halfway through I realized something was wrong.

Because C808 didn’t follow this process back then, but...

At this time, Bodi had already spoken the answer for him:
"The other party undoubtedly wants to expand the scope of the mutual recognition agreement... In my personal estimation, it must reach at least 100 tons of take-off weight or 200 seats."

For a moment, the air in the entire room became quiet.

Compared with individual models and standards, mutual recognition of airworthiness includes a package of relevant agreements, which is a major event that can directly subvert the aviation industry landscape.

Although Rolls-Royce's influence should be able to persuade EASA to agree to concessions to a certain extent, it will definitely have to pay a corresponding price.

“Can you consider offering a discount on the product type?”

The head of the negotiation team suggested:
"For example, if the mutual recognition scope only includes the power system, this will not only be more in line with our business direction, but also make it easier to deal with EASA operations after returning..."

It should be said that this opinion is undoubtedly valuable in terms of negotiation strategy alone.

After all, the last agreement reached between the two parties only included regional aircraft of 50 tons/less than 100 seats.

Although China's moves to break through restrictions have become increasingly obvious, for vested interests such as Europe and the United States, it would be better to loosen up the restrictions little by little.

But this time, Elginbridge thought about the problem from a different angle.

"Is it necessary?"

He suddenly smiled:
"Our company is not involved in the whole machine business. Even if China agrees to make concessions, it will only benefit the French for nothing..."

(End of this chapter)