Just when Chen Nian urgently contacted Lei Gang to report the situation because he recalled the AL-31FN engine procurement incident, in the conference room of AVIC Group 1, the negotiation that was about to change the pattern of China's aerospace industry, and even the aviation industry, had begun.
On one side of the conference room, Wang Ming, the representative from China, turned over the report in his hand, pretending to be displeased, and said to the Russian representative:
"Marokov, you should know what I have in my hand."
"This is an accident report of the J-10. In just three months, we have received two similar reports."
"And the causes of these two accidents are surprisingly the same - both were caused by your AL-31FN engine."
"One of the most recent times, our pilot completely lost power at a low altitude of three thousand meters. If it weren't for his superior skills, our third-generation aircraft would have paid the price with his life before it was officially put into service!"
"Aren't you going to explain this situation?"
Seeing his stern expression, Marokov on the opposite side spread his hands and replied:
"Dear Ming, my friend."
"I think we've discussed this many times before."
"The performance of the AL-31FN engine is absolutely reliable, and its performance has been proven on the Su-27."
"Whether it is power or stability, it is not weaker than the F100 installed by the Americans on the F-16."
"The main reason why problems occur frequently is not actually the engine, but the J-10 itself."
Having said this, Marokov deliberately paused for a moment. He stared into Wang Ming's eyes, as if he wanted to put pressure on him in this way.
"Ming, I guess you know this too, right?"
"The J-10 fighter jets currently using AL-31FN have all been 'improved', including the fuselage, air intake, and fuel system, which are all different from your original design."
"This modification was meant to fit our engine, but obviously it didn't fit particularly well..."
"So you are saying that we are the cause of the engine problem?"
Wang Ming interrupted Marokov and asked angrily.
"Why not?"
"We noticed that in order to adapt to the AL-31FN, the aerodynamic layout of the J-10 fighter jet has been greatly changed compared with the original version. Obviously, such changes have seriously affected the aerodynamic performance of this aircraft."
"Especially when maneuvering at high speeds and large angles, the lift coefficient of the aircraft will be seriously reduced, which greatly increases the load on the engine."
"We have checked the engine operating data. The accidents you mentioned actually all occurred under emergency thrust, didn't they?"
Marokov took a sip of coffee on the table with a relaxed expression and pointed at the report on the table.
He didn't feel any guilt, let alone any worries about this so-called "question".
Yes, there is indeed something wrong with the AL-31FN, but so what?
Will the Chinese really cancel their order for this engine because of this?
Do they have any other options?
impossible.
Therefore, the purpose of the opening questioning is not actually to launch an investigation, but just to give both sides a step down.
As long as you come up with relatively decent reasons and make certain concessions on the purchase terms, those orders that have been confirmed long ago will never fly away.
"...Emergency thrust is not an excuse for you to evade responsibility. If there is a problem with the Su-27, are you going to explain it to your own officers in this way?"
Wang Ming wanted to continue arguing, but he actually didn't know what to do.
He just wanted to deceive Marokov and see if he could get more information from him.
In fact, with the evidence he currently has at hand, it is simply impossible to analyze the real cause of the AL-31FN failure.
Even, as Marokov said, all the engine-related accidents that occurred on the J-10 in the early stage were caused by unconventional high-overload maneuvers.
In the opinion of many relevant experts, the reason for frequent failures is probably due to the mismatch between the airframe design and engine performance...
However, regarding his questioning, Marokov looked confident.
He smiled gently and replied:
"Of course I would not explain it to our own pilots like this, because on the SU-27, such a problem will not happen at all."
"Of course, since the birth of this engine, it has indeed experienced large and small failures."
"For example, the transmission shaft is not lubricated enough, the blade is broken, etc."
“We solve problems realistically every time and are constantly optimizing them.”
"You also know that the AL-31FN we exported to China is actually the third version after iteration, and this is also our commitment."
"If there are problems with design defects in the AL-31FN in the future, we will definitely be responsible to the end."
"Of course, we don't think that's going to happen."
There was a hint of subtle cunning in Marokov's eyes, but no one on the Chinese side noticed it.
"In this case, I hope you will issue a complete accident analysis report and give us an explanation."
"Otherwise, we will have to reconsider our subsequent procurement plans."
Wang Ming said seriously.
"Of course, of course, you can rest assured of that, my friend!"
The smile on Marokov's face became more sincere, and as Wang Ming closed the accident report in his hand, the procurement negotiations officially began...
.......
Two hours later, the first round of negotiations ended. After the Russian representatives left, the Chinese representatives gathered again in the conference room to review the results of the first round of negotiations.
"I think the pressure we have given is not enough. The other party's price is too high. If we purchase at this price, our single machine cost will increase significantly."
“This is without considering subsequent maintenance costs.”
"The operating hours of this engine are generally only 400 hours, and our pilot training hours must reach 600 hours. In other words, at least two engines are needed to cultivate a combat-effective J-10."
"So, based on this, I think we have to reduce the price by at least half."
The speaker was a young representative. After hearing his speech, Wang Ming nodded.
"That's something we're considering as well."
"The reason why the accident inquiry was arranged before formal negotiations was originally to put pressure on the other party."
"However, the data in our hands is really too little. When facing them, it is simply impossible to produce substantive evidence."
"From this perspective, the likelihood of reaching an outcome that is favorable to us is very low."
After hearing his words, everyone nodded.
Everyone knows that there is a problem with the AL-31FN, but no one knows what the problem is.
This situation is really frustrating.
Your skills are inferior to others, and you don’t even know where the other person’s mistakes are!
You know that the other person is wrong, but when they use various excuses, you have no way to refute!
After a while, the young man continued:
"If that's the case, can you just not buy it? After all, it seems that this engine is not reliable enough at the moment."
"Don't buy it? Why don't you buy it? Are you really waiting for WS-10?"
After the words fell, there was silence in the conference room.
Yes, if you don’t use this engine, what else can you use?
Wang Ming sighed deeply, and at this moment, his cell phone suddenly rang.
On the other end of the phone was his immediate boss, Lin Yongming, general manager of AVIC Group One.
"Mr. Lin, tell me."
"Negotiation? The negotiation went smoothly, but the first round was definitely fruitless..."
"Well, something did go wrong, but judging from the current data analysis, the engine itself is not a big problem."
"I understand, I understand...wait? What? Say it again?"
"Suspension? Self-developed engine!? Real or fake?!"
