Chapter 525 Nh90 helicopter, looking to the east

"actually……"

Pierre reached out and rubbed his chin, hesitated for a while and then continued:

"I think there's nothing wrong with that."

Flamel slowly turned his head and looked at the other party with a ghostly expression:

"Do you really know that it is the NH90 project?"

"of course."

Because the Z-9WY had landed on the tarmac again, their eyes returned from the sky to the ground.

Pierre nodded as he walked forward.

"NH90, NATO Helicopter 90, NATO utility helicopter."

Le Maire, who quickly stepped forward to keep up with the opponent, specifically emphasized the emphasis on NATO:

"Are you going to cooperate with the Chinese to produce helicopters for the NATO system?"

Although there are plans for a civilian model of the NH90, the development project itself is still a military model, and the Ministry of Defense of several NATO countries ultimately provided funding.

To cooperate with China on such a project is simply fantastic in Le Maire's eyes.

"NATO helicopters... that sounds nice."

Le Maire mentioned the cooperative nature of the NH90 helicopter, which made the originally calm Pierre very angry:

"I know that you are now the vice president of the French Aerospace Industry Association, and you have a lot more things to consider than when you were in the company."

He turned around and stared at his childhood friend:

"But Guillaume, you must know that the aviation manufacturing industry ultimately relies on technology to speak for itself."

"The aircraft will not care how noble your ideals of uniting Europe are, nor how much effort you have made to bridge the differences between you. It will only work accurately, precisely and rigidly in accordance with physical principles."

"And my friends, politics can't change physics."

Some slightly fierce words made Le Maire fall into silence.

Perhaps seeing his wavering, Pierre continued:

"The NH90 project started 13 years ago. Soon the British withdrew from the project without any surprise, then the Germans, and then the Germans rejoined. Now every country has its own NH in the project. And I watched with my own eyes as the design became fragmented due to compromise after compromise.”

"In order to promote their automatic carbon fiber laying machine, the Dutch require the aircraft body to use a large amount of one-time thermoformed carbon fiber material, claiming that it can reduce weight."

"However, the use of large-area carbon fiber is not mature at all. It will not only reduce the structural strength of the aircraft, but also cause the structural parts of the aircraft body to be unable to be repaired or replaced. Once damaged, it will lead to the overall scrapping."

"Of course this doesn't matter for passenger aircraft, but what we are designing is a helicopter. Even if it is a civilian helicopter, it is impossible to avoid damage during low-altitude missions, let alone a military helicopter?"

"At that time, the American Black Hawk and the Russian Hippopotamus only need to replace a piece of skin to be repaired, but the NH90 needs to replace the entire body made of carbon fiber? This does not meet the requirements of the use environment at all."

"There are also the Italians who require helicopters to use T700-T7E engines. They say it is because of better performance and higher power output, but in fact it is only because Fiat Group is involved in the development and production of this model."

"American engines are even calibrated in imperial units. It is impossible for us to design a transmission system that is perfectly compatible with both RTM322 and T700 engines. We can only make sacrifices in transmission efficiency."

"And the Germans..."

"..."

Pierre spent the next ten minutes criticizing each of these "allies" for the trouble they had brought to the NH90 project.

Finally, he summarized the current status of the project:

"If we continue like this, I can certainly build the NH90, but I'm afraid it won't meet the requirements of any country, let alone challenge the status of the Black Hawk helicopter."

"I have no problem with international cooperation, but we need truly meaningful cooperation that can improve the level of the project, rather than inviting a bunch of bullshit who keep wrangling for their own interests to delay R&D progress."

"Then if it's your wish, what are you going to do?"

This time, Le Maire did not directly refute, but first asked the other party’s opinion——

As an administrator who came from a technical position, he is more rational than most of his peers.

Of course what Pierre just said makes sense.

Otherwise, a relatively uncomplicated 90-ton helicopter project like the NH10 would not have been delayed for nearly 15 years.

You must know that the "90" in its name refers to the 90s.

However, it is almost the turn of the millennium, and the test flight process is not even halfway through, and there are still many problems that need to be reworked.

However, perhaps because he was afraid that the other party would say something shocking, he then added:

"It was agreed in advance that it would be politically feasible to completely abandon our allies and engage in independent research and development."

"I said I have no problem with international cooperation."

Pierre's expression also relaxed a lot:

"But we have to follow the Airbus model."

"Countries can have equal status in cooperation, but in terms of technology, especially the overall design of the aircraft, a subject must be established."

"Those other countries that are willing to participate can provide technology that meets the overall design requirements. We will also select suppliers that meet the requirements from the partner countries and will not let them work in vain. Those who are unwilling to participate can also simply contribute money. At that time, the profits will be distributed according to proportion, or some production links will be completed in their country."

"But if you are unwilling to do these things, then get out of the project. It is better than dragging it out until the end and creating a flashy waste. We French people will not be able to live without leaving NATO. Besides, there will always be people who will choose to stay. "

He spoke out the thoughts that had been in his mind for a long time.

"What about the Chinese?"

Flamel asked:

"It is definitely impossible for the Chinese to carry out military cooperation with us within the cooperation framework of NATO. How do you plan to get them involved?"

Obviously, he had begun to seriously consider the plan proposed by Pierre.

If nothing else, "making helicopters quieter" is undoubtedly very attractive.

Compared with the Black Hawk, the current disadvantages of the NH90 are that it is not compact enough, has poor maintainability, and has a smaller door area on the side, which limits the range of the door machine gun.

The advantage is that the cabin is larger and there is a tailgate that can carry large cargo.

The maintenance problem can be solved by replacing carbon fiber with high-performance lithium aluminum alloy, but even so, each can only be regarded as having its own advantages and disadvantages.

In this case, if a "quiet" king bomb can be added, it will undoubtedly be a surefire winner.

Faced with this question from his friend, Pierre was already prepared:

"I studied the agreement that the European Aviation Agency and Airbus reached with China last year, and found that they like the 'technology for technology' type of cooperation."

"Of course, NH90 is a military project after all. It is not convenient for in-depth cooperation like aviation meteorological safety issues, but it can be reduced in scale."

"For example, let them provide a complete noise reduction solution for NH90. In exchange, we can also provide them with technical assistance on a peer-to-peer project and solve problems on a case-by-case basis without teaching each other methods."

"In this way, only one joint venture company is needed to complete the entire process. After the cooperation is over, the company breaks up, and God will not find any traces."

Flamel finally saw that the other party was prepared.

Not only the method, but also how to deal with the funeral has been planned.

It is definitely not a plan that can be thought of on the spur of the moment.

However, after a few minutes of hesitation, he slowly said:

"As for the way to cooperate with other allies, I need to go back and discuss it with my colleagues at the Aerospace Industry Association and the Ministry of National Defense. I can't guarantee you the specific results for the time being."

"But for China to provide noise reduction solutions for NH90, you can start preparations after you return."

"I'll convince those old diehards."