Rebirth of the Military Industrial Overlord

Airbus A320 is the second model series that Airbus Industrial Group plans to launch after the A300 series has been recognized by the market and is becoming more and more successful.

Coincidentally, the basic parameters of this aircraft, which started its development work in 1982, are also 150-seat class, 3+3 cockpit layout, 70-ton take-off weight, and 3,000 to 4 kilometers. Planning the voyage...In other words, it is almost exactly the same as the technical requirements that Tan Zhenhua just put forward!

This is of course not surprising at all, because the market demand is so, and everyone is suffocated, and the target competitor is also the same-at this time, the overlord in the 150-seat medium and short-distance market segment-Boeing 737-300 .

Little Hawke is of course very aware of the development process of the A320-the first prototype is in the final assembly on the production line, and its flight test will begin soon!

It is completely different from the half-hearted attitude towards the Airbus A300. BAE joined the A320 research and development work, but it was wholehearted and dedicated. They will even become a large number of advanced avionics, instruments and aircraft in the A320 series. The main contractor of the wing-without him, Qian Jing is optimistic.

And not only the BAE, Rolls-Royce is the same.

As mentioned in the previous article, when the "Airbus A300" was being researched, Rolls-Royce did not participate in the bidding of its engine at all, resulting in the engine of this type of aircraft being divided between Pratt & Whitney and General Electric. Back, Sir Hook will regret his intestines... So this time, Rolls-Royce has been deeply involved in the project from the very beginning, and has cooperated with U.S. Pratt & Whitney, Waguo Aviation Engine Company, and West Hans MTU Aero Engine. Dali Fiat’s five aircraft engine company "International Aero Engines" (IAE), which was established in 1983, was the bidder and participated in the battle for suitable engines for this type of aircraft.

Their proposal is to develop a brand-new engine code-named "V2500" for this new aircraft, using a mature dual-rotor system and applying a large number of Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce mature technologies, such as wide-chord fan blades, "Wall" combustor, single crystal turbine blades and powder metallurgy turbine disks, active tip clearance control and full authority digital electronic control system FADEC, etc. The goal is to develop a thrust of 12 tons, a bypass ratio of 5, and a thrust-to-weight ratio New engines above 4.9 can not only reduce the fuel consumption rate of the engine, but also improve its reliability, so as to compete with the powerful CFM international.

I need to briefly introduce CFM International here.

CFM International was formally established in September 1974. It was formed by the joint investment of Gaul SNECMA and American GE. Its most successful and most threatening to IAE was the CFM56 series of aero engines developed in 1979.

This is a milestone engine. It uses the core engine of General Electric’s successful product F101 military turbofan engine. Based on this, a series of models have been developed. The thrust range is from 8 tons to 16 tons. , Can meet the aircraft's low fuel consumption, low noise, low pollution requirements.

As soon as this engine came out, it immediately became the standard equipment of Boeing aircraft and spread to other airliner manufacturers. It was hailed as "the world's most successful commercial engine" because of its continuous sales record. As of June 2011, a total of 22,208 CFM56 engines of various types were used on the route. On average, an aircraft powered by CFM56 engines took off every 3 seconds. The daily voyage is equivalent to 50 round trips to the moon. According to the signed agreement According to orders and forecast statistics for the subsequent market, the final sales volume of this series of engines is very likely to exceed 40,000 units!

Airbus’s opponent is Boeing, and IAE’s opponent is CFM. Moreover, the first mover advantage is in the hands of the other party. Such a competitive landscape puts great pressure on both Hawke and Sir Hook. Although the United States and the European Union The body reached an agreement to allow Airbus aircraft to enter the U.S. market for sales, but everyone knows that trade protectionism is everywhere, and it is extremely difficult to open that market. Therefore, they naturally turned their attention to Airbus aircraft. The Asian region that performs well, and in this region, China has a vast territory, a large population, and has been successfully opened up by the Gauls in the market. There is no doubt that it will become the focus of the British to develop the Airbus market.

But this is the problem.

Although BAE sold a production line of "BAC" aircraft to China, strictly speaking, "BAC" is just a slightly larger regional airliner, and its performance in all aspects is not comparable to that of the upcoming Airbus. Compared with the A320, in other words, there is no obvious market crossover between the two, but the development plan for the new aircraft proposed by Tan Zhenhua is completely different. The market positioning of this aircraft is exactly the same as the A320!

In other words, if BAE and Luo Luo choose to support Tan Zhenhua's plan, then it is almost equivalent to giving up the opportunity to enter the China market for the A320 produced in Britain!

Therefore, the first instinct of Hawke and Sir Hook is that they cannot support Tan Zhenhua's plan.

But after thinking about it, they couldn't help being shaken.

This has to start with the weird organizational structure of the Airbus Group.

There is no doubt that Gaul and West Hans are the most determined core supporting the entire "Airbus Plan". The orders for Airbus's first aircraft A300 are almost entirely from Lufthansa and Gaul Airlines. For airlines with a background of “state-owned capital,” the two Airbus assembly lines first deployed in West Hans and Gaul are the main production bases for Airbus aircraft. As for the line in BAE’s hands, it’s more important It's like a small favor from the European continent to win over the island nation of Britain.

In other words, the biggest head of rights and interests of the entire "Airbus Industry Group" is still on the European continent, in the two countries of West Hans and Gaul.

Therefore, if Airbus is negotiating with China in the name of "Airbus Industry Group" for passenger aircraft sales, the final order must be shared by these two countries, and it has no relationship with Britain.

If British Aerospace Systems wants to get a piece of the pie, it has to rely on its own efforts.

Originally, Little Hawke believed that he still had a considerable advantage.

Because China’s aviation and civil aviation systems have a traditional friendship with the Hawk family, not only is it still operating the world’s largest "Trident" fleet so far, it is also said that it has just approved the purchase plan of the "BAC" passenger aircraft. The number is small, only 5, but it is a good start for Tan Zhenhua and Xi'an Aircraft Factory, but for Little Hawk, it is the continuation of friendship.

But if Tan Zhenhua were to make troubles...