Chapter 392 global test flight (2)

Raymond has been focusing on civil aviation for half his life, but Boeing's military and civil sectors are one. Raymond is very clear about the laws of the development of Defense Science and technology in the United States and even in western countries, and he has not guessed wrong. Whether it is the United States, e-country, Daur or even India, they are worried about the next development of Dongchen aviation engineering. Pratt & Whitney used to be aviation They are the biggest giants in the field of air engine. They have come all the way and understand the rules and details. In their opinion, Dongchen has the strength to produce high-end turbojet engine. Even if they don't make any technical design, they can make use of Dongchen's own materials, manufacturing technology and design according to the China Taihang engine Achieve the transformation.

When Boeing's three airliners with Dongchen engines started their own global journey, the U.S. Congress held a secret meeting to discuss the impact of Dongchen on the future national defense strength of China and the west, and to discuss whether a proposal was urgently put forward by the U.S. air force, which is to provide at least $2 billion of R & D funds to Pratt & Whitney and General Electric to accelerate the development of a new one Generation of aircraft engines, and Pratt & Whitney and general motors have expressed their willingness to jointly invest $1 billion in research on new materials and higher-end manufacturing processes.

At the same time, the scene of the Congress meeting is broadcasting the picture of three planes flying in the air at this time. This picture is the result of CNN's camera car set up on the coastline. The three planes roared one after another and continued to climb a new height. At this time, the military representative said: "as you can see, Dongchen's technology in the field of aeroengine manufacturing, We can't surpass them, and we have absolute reason to believe that they have the ability to manufacture high-end military engines, and may even have started secret development. If Dongchen manufactures a military fighter engine with a high push to weight ratio, or an engine with a longer range, it will have a great impact on the whole situation in Asia. Donggood will panic, India There will be panic, even in Southeast Asia. In that way, I'm afraid the situation in Asia will be unbalanced. "

A congressman said: "even if China gets the military engine developed by Dongchen, I don't think it will have any impact on the United States. We are separated from China by a hemisphere. As far as I know, China's fighter aircraft, whether from stealth performance, combat performance or avionics performance, are one era behind us, even if they are moving With a certain improvement in power, it will not constitute a direct threat to us. "

"No." "We don't want to see if it is a threat to the U.S. or the U.S. military, but we want to control the situation in the Asia Pacific. If China's air force is growing rapidly, many countries in Asia will be afraid of it," said the military representative

Another congressman said: "at present, we can't stop Dongchen's R & D at all. However, if we look at this issue from another perspective, I think it's not a bad thing for us. After all, once the air force strength of China is improved, many countries in dong'u, India and Southeast Asia will become our arms customers. Even we can Take this opportunity to further increase arms sales to Asia and open up more of our previous restrictions. The White House has always listed F35 as the fist product for arms sales to foreign countries. However, since China may get better performance aircraft, we may as well weaken F22 to some extent and derive an export model on the basis of F22. "

The military representative helplessly said: "even if we weaken F22 and export it, we can't solve the problem substantively. Moreover, the capacity of F22 is very small, and we can't make it reach the production scale of F35 in a short time. The most important thing is that we can start the export sales, and the Chinese can also open up the situation in the field of export sales. We need to know that the cost-effectiveness of the aircraft in China is better than that in China Our fighters are much higher. Although our fighters have unparalleled advanced nature, not every country can bear the price of a single billion fighter plane. Before the export of China's warplanes, most of them were troubled by the engine. Once the Dongchen helped the porcelain country to solve the problem of the engine, it made the performance of the engine far surpass that of the other fighters in the world. So China fighter will have an absolute market share in the developing countries and the third world countries. Will that be a good thing for us? Take a look at whether Rolls Royce is making more money or Toyota is making more money, you may understand. "

"We also know that if Dongchen develops military engines, it will have an impact on the international situation. However, how can you ensure that Pratt & Whitney and GM can successfully develop engines comparable to Dongchen after getting the funds approved by Congress?"

"From what you just said, what you need to do is not only to develop and design a new engine, but also to overcome the problems of materials and manufacturing technology while designing and developing. You should also be very clear about the time and money spent on depleted uranium armor. Fortunately, we had a certain amount of time and money at the beginning But now? Do you have any breakthroughs in new materials and new manufacturing processes? If not, then I think billions of dollars is just a start-up cost. With the deepening of R & D and the expansion of R & D projects, you will only need more and more funds. At that time, because you have invested a huge amount of money, you can't give up halfway, and then constantly threaten Congress to approve more R & D funds, and then what? Three, five, or even ten years later, you may have burned tens of billions of dollars, but in the end, you can't achieve anything, or you can't achieve much, and still can't match Dongchen. "

Not every congressman is an expert in the field of military affairs. They are more concerned about billions of dollars. The U.S. government's military expenditure this year is almost the same, and billions of dollars, even for the U.S. government, is not a small amount. If Congress thinks that a thing is not important or significant, let them pay. Simple It's hard to reach the sky.

The representatives of Pratt & Whitney and general motors have expected that Congress will use this highly skeptical attitude to refute the needs of the military, and they have already left behind. Pratt & Whitney and General Motors also know that no matter military or civilian, technology is mostly the same, and vigorously researched and developed. If there is a breakthrough, it is the full line of inspiration, and they have already reached it in private As a result, the head of Pratt & Whitney said: "Pratt & Whitney is willing to cooperate with GM in R & D, and our two companies will jointly carry out R & D of new engines and a series of manufacturing process and material issues. Moreover, we are willing to bear 50% of the cost of the whole R & D process, and the other 50% is allocated by Congress. The military does not need to pay us for all the technical achievements developed Other technical expenses. "

As the director of Pratt & Whitney continued to swim, he said, "you are looking at Dongchen's engine on a journey around the world in a way that has never been seen before. This journey around the world will be the last battle for Dongchen aviation industry to dominate the civil aviation engine, and I believe that this test flight will be a very successful one As you know, all the Pratt & Whitney and general civil engine production lines have been sold to Dongchen and have formed productivity in Dongchen's hands. These production lines can be transformed in a very short time and then produce turbojet engines. With Dongchen's current production capacity, new engines can be replaced for all China Air Force fighters in a very short time, even In a very short period of time, we can help China's fighters to open up the export market. Xiaolong and J10 are low-end but cost-effective models in China. In developing China, once the engine problem is solved, there will be a very good market, which is absolutely something Congress will not want to see. "

Military representatives also added: "if Dongchen produces engines with larger thrust to weight ratio, it will also be a great promotion for the carrier aircraft of China, which can accelerate the formation of the carrier combat effectiveness of China, and deter the situation of the whole East Asia, and even enable China to break through the blockade of the first island chain. In this way, we are very passive."

"Passive..."

Members of Congress have been troubled by this word for a while. What the United States is most afraid of is passivity. In order to make them feel safe, they must take the initiative in everything. Once the balance in Asia is broken, which may make them fall into passivity, they have to seriously consider the military proposal.

With billions of dollars of start-up funds, it's hard to know when the follow-up investment will come to an end. Even if Congress has some changes in mind, it's impossible to make a decision in a short time. After a discussion, Congress decides to make a more detailed argument and discussion in private. The military has no opinion on this. It can only leave the proposal, and then Go back and wait for the result. If the situation is not clear, start one-on-one lobbying for members.

Most members of the Congress still hope to make a conclusion after the test flight of Dongchen. They want to see whether the test flight of Dongchen will succeed or not, and how much shock it can cause after the success. If Dongchen really makes them lose their initiative and fall into passivity, they should also measure how big Dongchen is Influence.

The Boeing 747 flew over Hawaii and then turned to Guam. Because the engine has been very stable, the whole test flight, for all the people participating in the test flight, is more like a normal cross-sea flight, no difference from the normal flight.

Most of the time, the aircraft flies at a cruising speed of about 800 kilometers per hour. Because the route is not a complete straight line, the whole route is composed of multiple S-shaped curves. At many specific times, the speed of the aircraft falls to 400500 kilometers, so the flight to India New Delhi lasts nearly 40 hours, and the aircraft begins to enter Airspace in New Delhi.

At this time, all three aircraft have flown nearly 2100 kilometers, but all three aircraft still have some fuel surplus. Paul wants to calculate the accurate data of the maximum range, so he asked the tower to approve three aircraft to circle at three different altitudes around the New Delhi airport until the fuel is exhausted before landing.

now these three aircraft are the focus of the global civil aviation, and New Delhi Airport has already been instructed by the Indian civil aviation authority, which is to meet all the needs of these three aircraft as much as possible.

Three tower approval