Chapter 873 Join if you can’t beat him

Seeing that the topic had come to an end, Whittle finally had the opportunity to talk about the original purpose of his visit.

He pulled out a few photos from the envelope and laid them out on the desk:

"Recently, I found that there were several new verification aircraft being tested in Yanliang, so I took some time to take some photos."

On the other side, Brin had already written a note and turned his eyes to the photo in front of him:

"They look like some Chinese-made Flankers..."

He stopped talking midway.

Obviously, it's not that simple:

"and many more……"

Brin picked up one of the photos on the table:

"This plane seemed to have appeared in last year's military parade..."

"The part between its two air intakes is different from that of the normal mass-produced Flanker. There is a bulge of unknown purpose, so it is impossible to install the belly tandem rack."

"Yes."

Whittle nodded:

"I speculate that it may be a device related to flight tests, integrated sensors and the like, so this aircraft is actually a technology verification aircraft specially used to test new aircraft engines."

In fact, his speculation was very close to the truth.

Both J-11WS were modified with an additional pipeline compartment in the belly to facilitate the replacement of the engine under test and the modification of the corresponding flight control program.

This is almost the most obvious feature of this model in appearance.

After all, although the J-10B, which also uses the WS-11, has undergone a complete transformation in structure, it cannot be seen from the appearance alone.

"So this means that the new engine they showed off last year may soon be put into use?"

Brin put the photo back on the table and looked up at Whittle across from him.

As Rolls-Royce's official overseas representatives, the two of them, and even the entire British members of Rolls-Royce, are responsible for collecting certain commercial and technical intelligence.

This is also an international practice.

As long as you don't blatantly break the law, the host country won't stop you.

Anyway, open source intelligence analysis is something that everyone knows about.

And it is not certain that anything useful can be analyzed.

Like the report that the Americans issued after last year's military parade, which concluded that "the WS-10 uses the CFM56 core engine", their fierce operation actually helped China a lot.

"According to Chinese practice, at this time, the product has probably been deployed to the troops in small batches for trial use."

Whittle replied:

"Last time, after they suddenly stopped purchasing parts from Spey, I specifically studied Huaxia's R&D project process."

"At that time, their aero engines and aircraft were still being developed by the same company, and even the former was not a completely independent project. Now, they have set up a new company and completely separated the work on both sides."

Obviously, his time in China over the years was not in vain, as he at least had a clearer understanding of the situation of the Aviation Power Group.

"I remember reading the analysis from last year, saying that this is an engine very similar to the F110 in every way?"

Brin is not an expert in technology, but he still reads some analysis articles in the industry.

"There were many theories at the time. Some said it used the CFM56 core engine, while others said it was a copy of the AL31F."

Whittle paid more attention to this aspect, so he patiently explained:

"Well, later on, Snecma Group was sanctioned by GE, so it chose to cooperate with Huaxia to improve the design of the M88 engine. It is said that the current progress is good."

"So the general judgment in the industry is that the Chinese's new engine uses, or at least refers to, the design of CFM56 or F110. Otherwise, it is impossible to explain why the French made this choice."

Having said that, Brin still keenly perceived some hints from his old friend's words:

"So you think that's not the case?"

"Well... I don't have any direct evidence."

Whittle gently touched his chin with one hand, which was his habitual action when he was lost in thought:

"But from what I know, China has never had any contact with the F110 series engines in the past, and its knowledge of the CFM56 is limited to some highly fragmented information obtained through different channels in the 80s. As for the use and maintenance of the Boeing 737, this is not useful experience for research and development work."

"Based on my personal experience, not having complete technical information at hand is like having a weak foundation that needs to be reinforced before building a house. In many cases, it is better to start from scratch, which can reduce a lot of constraints."

Hearing this, Brin's face instantly showed a gloating expression:

"Wait a minute... Didn't the French fall for false intelligence?"

Although in today's timeline, the relationship between the British Isles and European countries is much closer than in the previous life.

But that's only officially true.

For the British, watching the French get humiliated remains one of life's great pleasures.

However, Whittle looked quite serious:

“That’s the point I want to make today.”

The former collected the photos and put them back into the envelope:

"Just five years ago, they even had to purchase second-hand spare parts from us to produce engines like the Spey."

"But now, no matter what technical route they take, they are on par with the French... at least in some aspects."

At this point, he paused for a moment, then pointed to the report placed next to him:

"If we really want to think about the next five years, or even beyond, then what we should worry about most is not how Airbus or Boeing will perform, but whether Chinese models will take over the market in large numbers."

After hearing this concise analysis, Brin couldn't help but suppress the smile on his face.

After all, it involves matters related to the company's business.

After a long time, he asked tentatively:

"But the Chinese are currently preparing to produce two domestic passenger aircraft models, called C808 and C909, which are copies or upgraded versions of Russian products. It seems that there is no room for us to play a role?"

"That's true at the moment."

Whittle leaned back in his chair:

"But we need to see that the Russians have lost their complete research and development system. Maybe they can rebuild it one day in the future, but even if that happens, they have missed at least 15-20 years and cannot keep up with the speed of technological progress of the Chinese."

"I think that after these two passenger aircraft models, the Chinese will definitely consider gradually getting rid of the Russians and seeking more advanced technology. What has happened in the past few years has proved that this process is probably unstoppable."

"So what you mean is...if you can't beat them, just join them?"

Brin's tone seemed a little strained.

"That's not what I said."

Whittle quickly denied:

"I just think that since our previous technology blockade failed, why not change our thinking and first stand up and cooperate with them in the civil aviation industry? This will at least ensure that we can get a big piece of the pie."

At this point, he probably felt that he was showing a bit of capitulationism, so he added:

"Moreover, whether they develop independently or cooperate with the Russians, it is almost completely out of our control. In comparison, it is better for us to be more proactive, so that at least we can exert some influence on them in the future..."

This is indeed true.

But there is always a feeling of "I voted".

“Are you going to include this in your annual report?”

Brin scratched his head:

"As for cooperative research and development, our words don't count..."

"No no no..."

Whittle waved his hand:

"The cooperation I'm referring to is not simply joint research and development... but like IAE, Rolls-Royce and China's aviation power group jointly established a company."

"Of course, we can't start with something as big as an aircraft engine, but we can try it out with some scattered, less important projects first..."

He was interrupted by Brin halfway through his words:

"Wait a minute, wait a minute..."

"Why does this joint venture you mentioned look so much like our Xiluo Company?"

As a result, Whittle made a straightforward point:

"Of course it's us..."

"If we can become a company like IAE that has R&D and production capabilities, then we won't have to rely on London for everything. By then, our status will be..."

Whittle didn't continue speaking, but just stretched out his hands and raised them slightly.

The meaning is self-explanatory.