Chapter 89: The Olive Branch of the Italians

In the original timeline, Northern Xinjiang Airlines did form a fleet of propeller regional airliners, but with ATR42.

The main original design of the MA60 is indeed an aircraft that cannot find advantages, and it is already the 21st century when it is actually put into operation, and in the end it is not even a mouthful of soup.

However, the point is not the order for these 8 aircraft, but the olive branch extended by the Italians.

This is likely to be a huge opportunity for China's civil aviation industry.

"Agusta Corporation?" Chang Haonan was stunned: "They are not...... Helicopter ......"

"This was indeed the case in the past, but judging from the conditions they offered, the sincerity is very strong, and it doesn't look like there's anything greasy."

Yi Yuanhe, Liu Hongbo and Chang Haonan walked near the tarmac, and the sunset stretched the shadows of the three people.

"After analysis, the head office thinks that they may want to enter the Chinese market, and their product performance is even better than that of Eurocopter, but the cost, tsk......t"

"The cost problem is not necessarily unsolvable." Liu Hongbo, who was walking on the other side, said while sorting out the clothes on his body:

"After all, they are talking directly with Huaxia Aviation Industry Corporation, if there is a production line......

While the other two people were discussing the helicopter production line, Chang Haonan raised his head slightly and recalled.

Agusta, before his rebirth, was already known as AgustaWestland, an Italian company specializing in the design and manufacture of helicopters of all kinds.

Representative models such as A109 and A139 are the absolute main force in the future Huaxia police helicopter sequence.

In 1996, the company was probably considering a merger with the British company Westland, which changed the company's product prefix from "A" to "A".

However, from an afterthought's point of view, this Italian-British cooperation could not be regarded as a very successful success.

After lengthy negotiations, the two companies reached an agreement in 2001, but the joint operation lasted only three years, and by 2004 the entire stake in AgustaWestland had been bought back by the Italians at a high price.

Since then, it has been operating under the Finmecanica Group.

"Wait......"

Thinking of this, Chang Haonan seemed to have found some clues.

The MA60 is a 40-60 seat propeller regional airliner, which is not yet a large segment, so there are very few players in it.

The most important model, the ATR42, was jointly developed by Italy and France.

The Italian side is represented by Alenia Aerospace.

It is also one of the subsidiaries of the Finmecanica Group.

Everything seemed to be clear.

"Speaking of which, what are the conditions on the Agusta side, and will they jointly develop it with us?"

"That's right, but the overall design of the MA60 has been basically finalized, so they just provide some help in the aircraft manufacturing process and aviation materials, and will also inject a research and development fund, which is also a part of the head office." Yi Yuanhe nodded.

There is no way, this kung fu Huaxia's economy can only be regarded as just entering the rising period, and to put it nicely, there is a lot of room for improvement, so the funding for a low-priority project like the new boat 60 is quite tight.

"They...... Didn't ask for other aspects of the design? ”

"Anything else?"

Yi Yuanhe was also stunned when he heard this question, and then guessed the meaning of the other party's words: "Are you worried that your technology on the wing will be stolen?" ”

"Well......" Chang Haonan lowered his head and thought for a moment: "Sort of, it's mainly about analyzing what they want." ”

"You don't have to worry about this, don't say that they didn't make this request at all, and even if they did, we wouldn't be able to agree." Yi Yuanhe chuckled and waved his hand:

"Huaxia Aviation Industry is so unique at the moment, and it is too late for Mr. Liang to hold on tightly, unless there can also come up with some equivalent technology to share."

This idea coincides with Chang Haonan at the beginning.

"What about the final production, is it joint production or ......?"

"In China and Italy, we will build an assembly line, and in addition to the core components that they are responsible for, they will be produced in their respective countries."

"It seems that they have a lot of ambitions in this field......"

Hearing this, Chang Haonan also roughly understood the purpose of the Italian side.

"Ambition? Do you mean our domestic helicopter market? Liu Hongbo is still thinking about the helicopter.

"No, no, no, it's not a helicopter, and it's not the domestic market in China." Chang Haonan shook his head:

"The Finmecanica Group can be regarded as an Italian state-owned enterprise, and its two core companies are one with France to develop the ATR42 and the other with us to develop the MA60."

"Considering that the Saab 2000 on the Swedish side is very competitive because of the cost and runway requirements, that is to say, in this segment, no country in the world can escape the Italians to make money, no matter which model they choose."

"Moreover, the final assembly of the ATR42 was completed in Toulouse, France, which did not provide too many employment opportunities in Italy, and limited help for the development of the industry in Italy."

“……”

In the 90s, this information was not very well-informed, so Chang Haonan took a moment to introduce the specific situation of Finmecanica at the end.

After listening, Yi Yuanhe and Liu Hongbo showed expressions of sudden realization almost simultaneously.

（°ο°）~

After all, the Italian's ability is different, and the level of standing in the team is absolutely first-class.

"You mean, the other side is very optimistic about the future development of this market segment?" The expression on Yi Yuanhe's face gradually changed from surprise to delight.

In fact, the reason why the 40-60 seat level regional aircraft was selected as the starting point of China's civil aviation industry has nothing to do with any market evaluation and user research, because in the early 90s, the only passenger aircraft that can be independently produced in China is the imitation of the An-24 Y-7.

I don't have a choice.

Therefore, when Yi Yuanhe, as the chief engineer, heard the judgment that the market would develop in the future, he naturally had a feeling of unintentionally inserting willows into the willows.

"That's right, especially in Southeast Asia and South America, where land transportation is inconvenient and navigation distances are relatively short, and there are also some mountainous European countries that should also be considered."

"If that's the case......"

Yi Yuanhe lowered his head and paced, one hand constantly rubbing his chin.

This is his habitual action when thinking about problems.

"Maybe we should report to the head office and try our best to promote this international cooperation?"

"At least in terms of the conditions that the other side is proposing at the moment, it doesn't hurt us."

Chang Haonan, as an outsider, naturally couldn't directly help Yi Yuanhe make any decisions, but he knew very well how to influence the other party.

"And, if possible, I propose to further accelerate the test flight of the MA60, preferably in time for the Paris Air Show to be held in the middle of next year."

(End of chapter)