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Volume 1 085 Outsourcing Phantom 4000

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    Qi Yiming never expected that Dassault would have such an incredible plan-China and France would cooperate to produce the Mirage 4000 heavy-duty fighter jet.

    The history of world aviation is full of misfortunes. There are many fighter jets that died midway. Many military fans lament when mentioning them. Dassault¡¯s Mirage 4000 is undoubtedly one of them.  The Mirage 4000 is actually a heavy-duty fighter aircraft that adds an engine, enlarges the body, and fine-tunes the design of the Mirage 2000. In fact, it did not receive funding from the French Ministry of Defense from the beginning, but was researched simultaneously with the Mirage 2000.  At that time, Marcel Dassault, the head of Dassault, stated that France would pay for the 2000 and they would raise their own money for the 4000. The reason why he was so confident was that the French had always wanted to have a twin-engine heavy fighter of their own, and even  At one time, it also test-flew the American F-15 fighter jet.  Another benefit is that for some Middle Eastern countries that are unwilling to choose U.S. and Russian fighters, the Mirage 4000 undoubtedly gives them a third way, with Saudi Arabia and Iraq as the main potential customers.

    However, neither the French themselves nor the oil tycoons in the Middle East chose this fighter in the end. In fact, it uses a lot of mature technology from the Mirage 2000. Most of the parts can even be shared, not to mention that the maintenance is more convenient for those who are accustomed to using it.  Customers of legal aircraft.  The design is excellent, the ideas are also excellent, and the foundation of the Mirage 4000 is also very good, but no one buys it.

    This fighter jet was briefly restarted as a project in 1986, mainly for the purpose of selling it to Saudi Arabia.  Because at this time, the Iraqis were short of money due to the anxious war, and they were even less likely to order such expensive new fighter jets from France. Saudi Arabia had just signed the Al Yamaha arms agreement with the British, and billions of dollars had been spent.  With the Gale as a supplement and replacement for the F-15, there is no need to cause this trouble for yourself.  Later, the Americans discovered that they had lost a large arms order, and reopened the F-15 to Saudi Arabia, let alone the Mirage 4000.

    So in the end, this good fighter aircraft ended up as a piece of aviation museum furnishings, and never had the opportunity to actually enter the battlefield and compete with war eagles from other countries.

    Although the story of Mirage 4000 is sad, Qi Yiming feels that this matter has nothing to do with him, and he cannot imagine why Dassault would want to cooperate with him on this project.

    After considering his words, Qi Yiming said cautiously: "Mr. Dassault, I believe you know that more than half a year ago, our company signed a contract with Grumman International for the F-14 cooperation project. We have obtained all 70 F-14 fighter jets from Iran. After the modifications we require are completed, Grumman will provide us with the next batch of 30 new F-14 fighter jets, and the second part of the contract also stipulates that if If everything is correct, we will purchase another 50 Tomcats from Grumman. Eventually, the total number of operational Tomcats in our naval aviation will reach 150. At the same time, our country will also obtain a production license from Grumman for the production of our own Tomcat version. In addition, I believe you have also heard of my country's J-10 fighter, which is very similar to the Mirage series. They are medium-sized fighters with delta wings and canards. This is not to mention the main model of the Chinese Air Force. The bomber's Flying Leopard and the navy's carrier-based J-8V Skua. There are already four main types of aircraft in our aviation force. Whether it is in terms of demand or economics, it is impossible for us to purchase another one. It¡¯s a fighter jet that¡¯s completely out of our system.¡±

    When Qi Yiming made a whimsical plan to replace the Tomcat and purchase F-14s from Grumman, he was really optimistic about the Tomcat's superior air combat capabilities and room for further improvement, but it did not mean that he was a fool who had money and nowhere to spend it.  In this era, China was still a poor country. Although he had gained a lot of base income by repeatedly defeating enemies, there was no reason to become a money-splitting boy.

    Serge was not discouraged and explained to Qi Yiming: "Mr. Qi, we proposed such a cooperation after a lot of careful consideration. First of all, it was based on the transaction with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia needs a large number of fighter jets.  , with both air combat and ground attack capabilities, the Flying Leopard produced in China is an eye-catching model. It is undoubtedly cost-effective and quite practical, and its combat mode is also very novel. However, the Flying Leopard is not without its shortcomings.  , that is, after entering the air dogfight, you will have no advantage against any of the three-generation aircraft. I believe you yourself know this, and your opponent, the British, will also make a fuss about it. "

    Qi Yiming nodded and said: "The Tornado ADV is not a good air superiority fighter. If I need it, I will sell Saudi Arabia our J-8V fighter that performed well in the Korean conflict. This is an air combat fighter."  A fighter with superior performance.¡±

    Serge still had a smile on his face, but shook his head and said: "The achievements of our Chinese counterparts are very surprising. They have made so many dazzling fighter jets quietly, which makes people wonder.  Is it some magic that God has cast on the Chinese? Yes, the J-8V can be an air superiority fighter, but essentially it is.It is still a STOVL fighter, and its daily operation is still worse than the ordinary land-based version of the air superiority fighter.  "

    Qi Yiming sighed: "Any option must have its own advantages and disadvantages. We all know it, but I don't think that because of some shortcomings, we should give up our mature options and instead join Dassault Company to help you."  make money."

    Ed Stein interjected at this time: "Mr. Qi, you have misunderstood. We do not want you to give up Feibao's bidding project, but we want you to consider and participate in the Mirage 4000 project."

    Qi Yiming was still quite puzzled and turned to look at Serge.

    "Well, let's put it this way, we hope to not only be limited to this Saudi bid, but also cooperate with China in a wider range of fields. China has very excellent technology, and we are quite amazed by China's ability to control costs.  For example, the price you quoted for FC-1 is only US$8 million, and the price of Feibao is only US$24 million. This is something that almost no other company in the world can do. It is not cheap enough. It is made in China.  The excellent performance of the fighter aircraft has also been verified on the battlefield, so we have high expectations for the Chinese side.¡±

    Qi Yiming wouldn¡¯t believe this guy¡¯s statement even to death. Not long ago, the French were working on a helicopter project with China. They knew exactly what the situation was like in China.  But now with Qi Yiming's transformation, the domestic situation is completely different, and many companies have made considerable progress.  The French could not see the whole picture, but they believed that something very different must be happening in this country.

    Dassault cannot be said to have no ability and level, but it has suffered repeated setbacks in the international market. This is not only due to politics, but also due to its own failure in doing business and lack of aggressiveness.  At the same time, the French lacked negotiation skills and could not restrain their greed. They wanted to increase the price, but in the end they failed to achieve anything.

    In fact, Dassault has seen this problem a long time ago, but he just can't help but do it again.  Just imagine that even if the price of selling fighter jets is not very high, if the business is done, there will always be profits in the end. Moreover, through manufacturing and fulfilling the contract, the company itself is also making progress and accumulating experience in every link, which will eventually lead to the company launching better products.  product.  However, Dassault always misses the mark and rarely gets big deals as lucrative as those from Britain and the United States.  It was not until after the 21st century that India received a contract for 126 Rafale aircraft that it was considered a moment of pride. However, even when the contract was obtained, there were many twists and turns, and there were many mistakes. It can be seen that if you always fail to get a big contract, you are prone to mistakes.

    Serge saw it very clearly this time. If the Mirage 4000 project was interrupted, French Dassault would never have the chance to make any achievements in the heavy-duty aircraft project, and from now on, Dassault would only be ranked second in the world.  Provider of aviation equipment.  The ambitious Serge never wanted the aviation empire built by his father to eventually decline in his hands, so he planned to take a risk.

    "We have learned that the engines used by our Chinese counterparts are extremely advanced in performance, and it is said that Grumman is importing some of the turbofan engines that will be equipped on China's own F-14s at a price of only US$2 million. In addition, according to China's  According to publicity in the export market, fighter jets such as the FC-1 use a large amount of composite materials, and I have recently noticed that some Italian and Swedish companies have ordered a batch of carbon fiber materials from a Chinese state-owned enterprise, and the prices are extremely favorable.  Chinese counterparts are very experienced in controlling costs and using excellent components. We hope to use this ability of the Chinese side to reduce the factory cost of our Mirage 4000, and ultimately make this fighter aircraft as competitive as the F-15.  "

    Qi Yiming understood what Serge Dassault was planning. He said, "You mean, subcontract some parts to us for production, and then you will be responsible for the final assembly of the fighter jet?"

    Edelstein nodded and said, "That's pretty much it."

    In fact, in the field of civil aviation, the strategy of global outsourcing has become relatively popular and is a trend in the development of aviation equipment.  However, because the military field involves many confidential issues, everyone has always been more conservative. Unless it is an ally or quasi-ally with a relatively good relationship, similar to the relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States, or the relationship between China and Pakistan, outsourcing will be allocated to military aircraft projects.  Qi Yiming thought to himself that this strategy is actually a good idea for a company like Dassault that has to fight to the death.

    Even if Qi Yiming is allowed to produce some materials here, or even process some materials that are not particularly important, China can achieve at least one-third of the cost of the French in terms of labor, processing, materials and other expenses.  .  To put it bluntly, the more Dassault outsources to China, the lower the price of the aircraft will be. Of course, this situation cannot be allowed to happen.  If China masters too many details about the manufacturing of fighter aircraft, then the fighter aircraft will not belong to Dassault. Without Dassault, nothing will happen.The country can build itself up.
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