The correct use of Airbus's stepping stone is like this, everyone unites to set up a business, and the products produced naturally enjoy the right to be sold in various investment countries.

Let's put it this way, after the strengthening of World War II, the Soviet Union's aviation industry has developed greatly, and in the world, that is, it is slightly worse than the United States, and the Americans previously smashed the Western European market through the Marshall Plan, and its goods were sold unimpeded. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 Info The performance of similar products in the Soviet Union may be a little worse than that of the United States, but because of the low labor cost, the sales price is much cheaper than that of the Americans. For the people of Western Europe who were short of money at this time, Soviet products with higher cost performance were a good choice. However, because of political relations, this market was closed to the Soviet Union, and even if the goods of the Soviet Union were cost-effective, they could not be sold.

And now, with the skin of Airbus, Soviet aviation products have been transformed into European joint productions, and the biggest political obstacle has disappeared, and for Western European politicians, it is always politically more correct to buy European goods than American goods, isn't it? Moreover, the common people of Europe with simple patriotic sentiments also eat this set.

For Li Xiaofeng, Airbus is just the beginning, and if it succeeds, many of the competitive products of the Soviet Union and the Central and Eastern European socialist blocs will soon be sold in Western Europe in this way. If this succeeds, won't the so-called Iron Curtain be self-defeating!

Therefore, Li Xiaofeng does not mind giving away some shares to the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Belgium, but the share will not be too large, the United Kingdom will account for 5% at most, and the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy may only be between 5% and 10% together. In this way, the majority of the equity is still in the hands of their own people, and even if the British want to be a-stirring stick, they can't make any waves.

What's more, Li Xiaofeng also has a killer weapon against the British. Don't look at Churchill's talk about the Iron Curtain all day long, but in fact, this is also a mercenary guy, as long as there are enough interests, he will automatically throw the Iron Curtain out of the clouds. And at Airbus, this project can be profitable for the British!

Let's start from the beginning, the British aviation industry is actually very developed, the technical level is quite high, and it is a head above the Soviet Union in many projects. Especially on large flying machines, the level of the British was top-notch in the fifties. Even the sixties were at the first-line level.

For example, the AS-57 passenger plane, which first flew in 1947, is a very good piston engine airliner. It's a pity that it was born at the wrong time, and with the advent of the jet age, this product quickly fell behind.

Another example is the BAE-111 twin-engine short- and medium-haul jet transport aircraft of British Aerospace, which began to be manufactured in 1961, began test flights in August 1963, and was put into use on the route in April 1965. A total of 5 different models were produced: 200 (56 aircraft), 300 (9 aircraft), 400 (69 aircraft), 475 (9 aircraft), and 500 (87 aircraft). It is worth mentioning that in May 1979, British Aerospace signed an agreement with the Romanian government to copy 227 Type 475 and Type 500 (Romanian numbers ROMBAC1-11495 and Type 560, respectively) by the Romanian aircraft factory in Bucharest. In other words, this aircraft actually broke into the socialist market.

And that's not all, there is also the famous "Trident" in the Great Celestial Empire, which is actually a British product as well. Of course, there is a saying that this "Trident" is actually not a success, and it is similar in appearance to the Boeing-727 that flew a year later, with a slightly smaller volume and passenger capacity, and it is a three-engine short- and medium-range passenger aircraft. But the Boeing-727 was produced at 1832 units, while the Trident produced only 117 units, which is the L/15 of the Boeing-727.

Later the Europeans seriously analyzed the reasons for the failure of the "Trident" to compete with the Boeing-727. In their view, the Trident and other contemporaries of European-designed aircraft, such as the VC-10 and the Concorde supersonic airliner, had made a fatal mistake: they only targeted domestic or European needs, without considering the need to enter the world's largest civil aviation market, the United States.

It is precisely because of this lesson that the European countries of France, Germany and the United Kingdom began to unite at the end of the 60s of the 20th century, not only to meet the needs of the European market, but also to penetrate the American market as the primary goal, and finally achieved the great success of Airbus today, with its Airbus series of passenger aircraft to win the position of the same as Boeing's aircraft.

Of course, that's another story. To cite these three examples, it is just a matter of showing the strength of the British aviation industry. In fact, the biggest strength of the British aviation industry is still Rolls-Royce. Rolls-Royce stalk not much to say, Rolls-Royce's most powerful is still in the field of engines, whether it is World War II or the Cold War or the era when the United States imperialists were dominant, Rolls-Royce's aero engines have always been the world's first group, that is, the British are getting poorer and poorer year by year, otherwise Rolls-Royce's heritage and technical strength can be stronger.

And a very important reason why Li Xiaofeng is willing to give shares to the British is the strength of Rolls-Royce. The furthest thing that the Soviet aviation industry was furthest behind the United States was still in the area of power, and in this area of power, Rolls-Royce was probably a little better than the Americans in the fifties. If you want to compete with the Americans for the market, Rolls-Royce's engine can definitely add points. So Li Xiaofeng decided to have a good talk with Churchill in order to reach an agreement acceptable to both parties.

"If Britain were to join Airbus, the Soviet government would be able to guarantee that Rolls-Royce engines would be included in the list of alternative engines, and that the Soviet government would not stop customers from accepting Rolls-Royce's aero engines as long as they were willing to accept them."

To be honest, Churchill was tempted, and the aftermath of World War II was a big ordeal for British airlines. The military ran out of orders and even cut all orders from the end of World War II. The foreign market is generally depressed, and there are no decent orders at all, and what is worse is that the Americans are still participating in the rush to eat, which is even more squeezing the British aviation companies to death.

Beginning in 1945, the British military-industrial complex underwent a series of mergers and acquisitions and mergers to reduce expenses and increase competitiveness. However, the effect is not particularly ideal, in addition to the increasing number of unemployed industrial workers, sales are declining year by year.

If Airbus can sell planes, even if only a small number of Rolls-Royce engines are installed, it will increase jobs in the UK and open source. For Churchill, who was very tight on his wallet, it was a good thing to be able to open source!

But he also has doubts, is Airbus really competitive? Even in the name of European joint manufacturing, can we open up the European market?

Li Xiaofeng is not afraid to tell him the truth: "Airbus's main target is not the European market, now that the European economy is in recession, air travel is not people's first choice, our main target is the American market!" ”

Churchill was a little stunned, is the American market so easy to grab? Boeing is now a dominant company, and it can squeeze out enough European aviation companies, but now it can't even keep its own territory, and it still grabs the jobs of the Americans.

Therefore, Churchill is also very optimistic about the future of Airbus, and feels that even if he does not go to the mix, this company will not exist for long. Immediately, he hesitated, considering whether to just treat this incident as if it hadn't happened.

Li Xiaofeng can naturally see Churchill's inner thoughts, if it was in the past, he would definitely wish that the British would not participate, but not today, he is still aiming at the British market, so he must bring the British in.

So he suggested: "Well, if your government is willing to join Airbus, then on behalf of the Soviet government, I promise to purchase no less than 500 jet engines from Rolls-Royce......"

Churchill was a little shocked, because 500 jet engines was a big order, enough for Rolls-Royce to produce for several years. If Rolls-Royce knew that he had rejected the offer, the gang would have to clamoring for a few legislators to grind their teeth with him.

Churchill calculated in his mind that the British government's subscription of 5% of the shares was actually not much money, and the money was quickly earned back when the engine order and the engine orders that may exist in the future were included. In that case, why not join? There is money to be made, and you can also penetrate the enemy, killing two birds with one stone!

The British happily signed the stake agreement, and with the British signing, the Netherlands and Belgium quickly agreed. No one can stop the birth of Airbus.

There may be comrades who wonder why they want to give so much benefit to the British, and how beautiful it is for the USSR to digest the order of hundreds of engines. That's true, but the Soviet Union didn't lose anything about it.

First of all, Rolls-Royce's engine level is relatively high, at least longer than those jet engines made in the Soviet Union, and the fuel consumption is lower, and it is also good to purchase a little copycat technical experience. You must know that because of the technological blockade, the Soviet Union was no longer able to get the most advanced engines in the UK.

Secondly, according to the Airbus shareholding agreement, the company's products must be fired a first shot, and the Soviet Union will have to give orders, not to mention more, the purchase of one or two hundred aircraft is inevitable. In the case of short- and medium-haul commercial jet transport and passenger aircraft, a minimum of two engines are required for one aircraft, plus two spare ones, which basically consumes Rolls-Royce's engines.

You ask, how big was the domestic aviation market in the USSR? Don't say that there really is, because the territory of the Soviet Union is vast, and the demand for air transport is actually quite large. And the domestic airlines of the USSR were prepared to purchase not passenger, but cargo. Compared with those jet engines in the Soviet Union that are not very reliable and have a low lifespan, I am afraid that it is more economical and reliable to purchase Rolls-Royce's engine.

In other words, the Soviet Union did not lose money on this deal, and it was possible to obtain more advanced jet engine technology and enhance its own air transport capabilities, so why not? And counting the British and Western European markets that have opened the door in the future after the British entered the game, this deal is really very cost-effective.

In fact, in 1959, when Air France replaced passenger and freighter aircraft, Airbus got a large order, although the French still purchased 50 Boeing aircraft, but more than 100 large orders were given to Airbus.

After the French took the lead, Dutch Airlines also procured more than thirty Airbus aircraft, and then more than two dozen from Belgium. In addition, Central and Eastern Europe has also purchased Airbus passenger aircraft extensively. Since 1955, when Airbus's first passenger plane rolled off the assembly line, the company has no shortage of orders, and after entering the middle of 60 years, because of its good reputation and cheaper aircraft than Boeing, Airbus's market share is increasing day by day. Even the "stubborn" British began to purchase Airbus airliners.

In fact, this is nothing, more importantly, through the model of Airbus, the Soviet Union found the key to open the market in Western Europe. Many countries in the socialist camp have also followed the example of the cat and entered the Western European market. This has led directly to NATO's so-called blockade and isolation reduced to empty talk.

This is by no means good news for the United States, and to be honest, Eisenhower was quite annoyed. He believed that the British had betrayed themselves. Obviously said that they would unite to strangle the Soviet Union, why did you talk to polar bears in the blink of an eye, and set up some Airbus company to compete with us American aviation companies, this is Chiguoguo's stabbing knife, okay!

Anyway, Eisenhower strongly demanded that Churchill give an explanation, so did Churchill give an explanation?

Hehe, with the political wisdom of the old smoker, it is naturally not difficult to give a reasonable explanation: "It is not Britain that has turned its back on the special partnership between Britain and the United States. The British Government has always attached great importance to its special friendship with the United States, and the reason why the British Government joined Airbus was entirely out of consideration for safeguarding the common interests of Britain and the United States. This company was the result of France's surrender to the Soviet Union and the great conspiracy to divide and disintegrate the free world. Unfortunately, many of our allies did not see that this was a trap and naively jumped into it. If it is allowed to develop, I am afraid that NATO will cease to exist. Therefore, the only way is for Britain to enter into this alliance as well, on the one hand, to act as an internal understanding of the truth and to undermine the nefarious intentions of the Soviet Union and France on the other......"

It seems that the British say the same thing, and it seems that the British are underground workers who endure humiliation. Although Eisenhower was skeptical, it was not good to continue to put pressure on Churchill, after all, the pressure was too urgent, and the British also followed the example of France and surrendered to the enemy.

So in the end, Eisenhower hated De Gaulle to the bone, and if there was no anti-bone boy to lure the wolf into the house, would the situation be so passive? Now it is time to teach this anti-bone boy a profound lesson, so that he can deter those who want to get into trouble because of the betrayal of France...... (To be continued.) )