Chapter 1081 An Almost Ready-Made Solution

Although Edsteiner wanted to avoid being overly controlled by China, he had never told anyone else the real reason.

After all, for most ordinary workers, the first thing they pursue is definitely a stable and low-risk project.

Therefore, faced with the apparently very reasonable suggestion made by Casore, he certainly could not simply reject it.

I had to change the subject without leaving any trace:

"But... Ericsson once launched a light early warning aircraft in 1997 based on the Brazilian ERJ145 passenger aircraft."

"Although the flight speed of the ERJ145 is not as high as our Falcon 8Z, it is at least in the category of jet aircraft, right?"

In fact, Edsteiner's confidence in cooperation with Sweden comes largely from this new product that was put into service just last year.

But the results we get now are completely different from what we expected.

Casore shook his head helplessly:

"The system version used by the E99A is PS890, which is the model on the Saab 340. It has limited detection capabilities and can only achieve the most basic air detection. It needs to cooperate with the ground command post to achieve complete early warning and command capabilities..."

The French Air Force often needs to carry out missions in Central Europe, the Mediterranean, and even the Sahel region, but it is not included in NATO's command system and cannot rely too much on ground command.

And after entering the 21st century, such models with incomplete functions have gradually lost their competitiveness in the international market.

Although the armies of many small countries seem to have few opportunities to fight, it is precisely because of this that they pay more attention to keeping up with the fashion in equipment construction.

Don’t worry about whether it’s appropriate or not, just say it’s not advanced first, right?

Even the Swedes themselves are working on upgrading the PS890 system and pairing it with the larger Saab 2000 platform.

For a moment, Edsteiner's thinking seemed to have reached a dead end.

Looking at his old superior who was frowning and silent, Cassore hesitated for a long time and finally raised his doubts:

"Doctor, the Swedes are not the only ones who can provide the same type of early warning system. In fact, Ericsson's products have not been updated for a long time and are not very advanced today... Can we find other partners?"

Such a straightforward question made Edsteiner a little nervous. He hesitated for a long time before answering:

"I originally considered that Ericsson has rich experience in designing and developing small early warning aircraft, and we also need to consider non-technical factors... Sweden and we are both non-NATO members with close defense cooperation with NATO, so there are fewer obstacles to cooperation."

Cassole remained silent and did not reply immediately.

But judging from his expression, he was obviously not convinced.

If it were five years ago, these two reasons would have been quite convincing.

But this was 2003.

The NH90, in which China participated in half of its design, is now equipped by four NATO countries.

The engines used in Dassault's Rafale are not originally imported, but at least half of them are from others.

There are some things that you don't need to care too much about...

Of course, since the leader had spoken, it was not easy for Cassore to openly disobey the instructions of his superiors, so he had to choose a roundabout strategy:

"Then, Doctor, David Country is currently working with Gulfstream to seek to equip the G550 with the conformal array Phalcon system, and it should be a version with the same full functionality as the Boeing 707 platform. Have you considered contacting Elta Electronic Industries?"

Perhaps because he was worried that Edsteiner had a bad memory, he added a sentence at the end:

"Although Elta had a serious breach of contract a few years ago, its subsequent supply to India has been relatively smooth, and there should be no commercial risks..."

Obviously, the real focus of this sentence is in the first half.

This is also the part that Casore really wants to remind Ed Steiner.

Sure enough, upon hearing this suggestion, the latter's brows furrowed even deeper.

However, for Edsteiner, the business reputation of David Country is secondary.

Mainly, one of the two main opponents that the Falcon 8Z is targeting happens to be the Gulfstream G2001, which first flew in 550.

The other is the Bombardier Global 5000, which also made its maiden flight earlier this year.

There is no way, the positioning, size, range... even the time of entering the market are similar.

You're bound to end up with a bloody head.

Therefore, the publicity plan he finalized can be said to be extremely aggressive.

For example, the reason why the ultra-long-range test was suddenly brought forward was largely because they wanted to get ahead of the G12000, which also has a range of nearly 550 kilometers, and become the first iconic model that can fly directly from New York to Tokyo or Beijing.

Now, we suddenly have to compete with our opponent on the same aircraft carrier platform with the same radar system...

Let’s put aside the question of whether it’s embarrassing or not for now.

Gulfstream is no pushover, so how could they let go so easily?

Moreover, although conformal array antennas look beautiful, they have a greater impact on the overall structure of the aircraft than traditional backpack antennas.

Still, we have to go back to the question of finding someone to optimize the overall structure...

In the end, Ed Steiner decided to compromise with himself.

"never mind……"

He sighed and waved his hand:

"Let me think about it again..."

Then, after making sure that Casore had left and walked away, Edsteiner quickly returned to his desk, picked up the phone, and dialed the number of his secretary's office:

"Please send an email to China and ask them if they can provide a design plan for the radar antenna of the early warning aircraft..."

"Of course not detailed data... just an overall plan will do, and fast!"

The moment he hung up the phone, he was somewhat glad that he did not reject the other party outright at the beginning, but had dragged it on until today.

There is always some room for maneuver.

……

Edsteiner's request was soon presented on Liu Yongquan's desk.

However, this time, the former received feedback much slower than before.

Firstly, Chang Haonan, who first proposed this project, is currently concentrating on sorting out a large amount of work after the new model is launched, so Liu Yongquan himself can only be responsible for coordinating this matter.

Secondly, the cooperative development of early warning aircraft cannot be accomplished by the Aviation Power Corporation of China alone.

Cooperation from electronic technology and the aviation industry is also needed.

Or to be more honest, the other two are the main forces.

For cooperation like this that spans multiple companies, there are many approval procedures at the group level alone.

Although the whole process was almost green light thanks to Chang Haonan's signature, it was still a bit of a headache for Liu Yongquan who was not very familiar with this aspect of the business.

It was not until half a month later that he finally went to Gaojing again and contacted Liang Shaoxiu, who was in charge of testing the KJ-2000.

In fact, the two had met several times before.

Not to mention the distant past, they both attended the project launch meeting at the end of May.

It’s just that at that time Liang Shaoxiu didn’t have the opportunity to speak in the audience, and Liu Yongquan was the party under review, so they didn’t have any in-depth contact.

Fortunately, they are all soldiers trained by Chang Haonan in different fields.

Although we don't have a formal relationship, there is still some sense of being brothers.

Therefore, after just a brief greeting, the two of them became familiar with each other...

Not surprisingly, Liu Yongquan was shocked by the early warning aircraft when he entered the Gaofei assembly workshop for the first time.

So much so that for a long time, I couldn't take my eyes off it——

In terms of size, the C909, a 110-ton platform, is actually limited in mass.

But carrying a big plate and being "covered in thorns" will inexplicably give rise to a sense of science fiction.

Liang Shaoxiu was no longer surprised by this.

Almost everyone who comes here for the first time has a reaction similar to Liu Yongquan's.

"The second model that General Manager Chang and Academician Wang decided to launch has entered the testing phase and is expected to be delivered to the troops for trial use next year..."

"..."

After a brief routine introduction, he was ready to get into the main topic of today.

But before he could speak, he heard Liu Yongquan next to him whispering to himself with a sigh:

"No wonder President Chang was so confident before..."

When he first talked to Ed Steiner about the idea of ​​cooperating in the development of early warning aircraft, the latter did not give a clear answer, but avoided the question and looked like he was ready to find another partner.

At that time, Chang Haonan said that there was no need to rush, and the other party would definitely come back in the end.

After several months of no news, Liu Yongquan was still a little worried.

But when I came here today, I found that Mr. Chang might have started preparing for it a long time ago...

Liang Shaoxiu was slightly stunned, and also understood the purpose of Liu Yongquan's visit from this sentence:

"So... the cooperation project that Mr. Liu is here to discuss this time is related to the KJ-2000?"

He had just received a notice from his superiors the day before yesterday, saying that comrades from Shengjing Institute 606 were coming to discuss model cooperation matters, so he didn't know too many details.

"Strictly speaking, it is related to the early warning aircraft."

Liu Yongquan also restrained his expression and changed his tone to a serious one:

"We have a business jet platform developed jointly with Dassault with a maximum take-off weight of about 35 tons. Now the French side has asked us to jointly develop a light early warning aircraft based on it."

He patted the briefcase in his hand and said:

"I have brought the basic information of the platform, but I need you to come up with an overall design of the radar system as soon as possible, otherwise I am worried that the French will not be able to wait..."

"and many more……"

Liang Shaoxiu was stunned immediately:

“Is the platform ready?”

"Yes."

Liu Yongquan nodded, a little confused as to why the other party had such a reaction.

Liang Shaoxiu tried hard to keep his mentality stable:

"In this case... we have an almost ready-made plan..."

This time, it was Liu Yongquan's turn to be confused:

"what?"

As a "young backbone" who was promoted to a technical leadership position after the separation, Liu Yongquan did not have a very good understanding of the situation outside the aeroengine system.

He originally thought that it would take the sister unit several months to come up with the overall plan that Dassault wanted.

After all, it’s not just a matter of scaling down the large platform.

To this end, he even thought specifically about how to stabilize the mentality of the French people.

But when I arrived in Haojing today, I found that... the other party was already prepared?