The Huaxia Air Force currently has 14 second-hand Il-76T/TD transport aircraft purchased from different sources.

Four of them were set aside for the conversion of AWACS.

Despite the fact that there are very few of them, none of them are new, and they are not very proficient in the relevant tactical tactics.

But after all, the army has already experienced the performance of large transport aircraft.

It is easy to go from thrift to luxury, and it is difficult to go from luxury to thrift.

There's no going back.

With three times the load of the Y-8, it can also fly three times the range of the Y-8!

The year-end summary of the long-range transport aviation unit is handed in, and it can be summed up in one sentence.

The big plane is really TM fragrant, hurry up and make a little more!

However, the demand of the troops is high, and considering the overstretched military spending in China in previous years, it really cannot afford to introduce more Il-76 or other large transport aircraft.

In addition, large transport aircraft are still not so urgent compared to several advanced fighter models equipped by the same Air Force, and the matter has been shelved.

In 1997, however, the situation changed.

The secondary reason is that due to a series of events in 96, the total amount of military spending soared by almost 10 billion yuan according to the plan.

At the same time, because the development of several civil aviation models was taken into the system of the Commission of Science and Technology, there were billions more on the books.

The main reason is that when the 1997 budget was compiled, everyone was surprised to find that because many expensive projects such as the J-8C, Kunlun engine and Thunderbolt 11 were completed ahead of schedule in the second half of 1996, a large amount of project research and development and equipment procurement costs that were originally planned were saved.

The total amount of money alone is not more than the previous two, that is, the level of billions.

However, there is a considerable amount of foreign exchange quota in it.

In the 90s, it was a sweet treat.

The main reason is that a huge amount of money was saved in the process of introducing No. 11 engineering technology——

According to the original psychological expectations of the Chinese side, including the cost of technology transfer, equipment, materials, labor and other costs, the total contract amount that needs to be paid to the Russian side during the entire project period is about 7 billion to 8 billion US dollars.

Of that amount, nearly $1.5 billion would be paid in a lump sum in '96-'97.

But Sukhoi made huge concessions during the negotiations last year, lowering the unit price and reducing the number of planes that Huaxia was asked to purchase directly from Russia, resulting in a reduction in spending by about a third compared to the original plan.

This means that in 1997 alone, almost $500 million more could be used to import other technologies or equipment.

This can be considered a windfall.

Just in time for the Ilyushin Group and the Chkalov plant to jointly invite the Chinese side to send a delegation to visit.

Naturally, the Air Force's mind became lively.

This is why Huai Guomo led the team's trip.

Before leaving, at a small-scale internal meeting held by the Commission of Science and Technology, Ding Gaoheng listed and summarized these things.

The original intention was to give everyone a boost of self-confidence.

But as soon as the table was shown on the big screen, someone noticed the bright spot.

It seems that the same name is looming behind all these things......

Whether directly or indirectly, Chang Haonan has played a very important role in it.

In this regard, Ding Gaoheng humorously commented:

"It seems that our little comrade can still be regarded as the God of Wealth of the Air Force......

At the beginning, Huai Guomo went to Tashkent this time, and even wanted to bring this "God of Wealth" with him.

The latter's ingenuity and big-picture vision in the previous negotiations with Europe made him quite unforgettable.

It's a pity that after asking, I learned that the other party was helping the electric technology group deal with a difficult topic, and I couldn't get out for the time being.

After weighing it again, he still thinks that it is more important to let Chang Haonan solve the technical problem.

After all, the few times mentioned earlier, the latter was also broken through technical means.

……

After a short fugue, Huai Guomo's attention returned to the two rows of large planes parked inside the factory.

Kucherov, who had not opened his mouth much just now, finally came to the front:

"A total of 2 aircraft in our factory have been basically completed, and only some Il-78 tankers are left for maintenance work, which are the two farthest away from us."

Following the direction of the factory director, Huai Guomo saw two planes at the end of the queue with the words CCCP sprayed on the fuselage.

Rodzko, who was next to him, opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything.

Although the Chkalov plant did not have the ability to build aircraft from scratch, it had no problem to finish these semi-finished airframes.

From a legal point of view, it is certainly possible to discuss what percentage of these planes that remained in the Chkalov plant belonged to the Ilyushin group.

But it doesn't make sense.

The collapse of the Union was originally a mess, and how much they could grab from the chaos was up to their own abilities, and even if they said it now, it would be impossible for Kucherov to hand over these things that were parked in the final assembly shop.

At this critical juncture in the struggle between the Ilyushin clique and the native forces in Tashkent over the legacy of the Chkalov plant, there is no need to offend the key figures in it with these bits and pieces.

Under the leadership of Kucherov, they went to the vicinity of the Il-76 final assembly line.

"The first four aircraft are also Il-78, and the completion rate is about 70%, and with sufficient financial support, it can probably be completed within half a year."

"The first, that is, the four Il-76TD that we are passing by now are military transport types, and the completion level is about half, mainly because the power system is not yet in place, if the Perm engine plant can provide enough D30KP2 engines, then it will be very soon, at most...... A year and a half to two years. ”

"Why are these four planes taking so long?"

Liang Zhuoping, who was following behind Huai Guomo, asked with some curiosity.

After all, if you really want to talk about it, the complexity of the Il-78 is actually higher than that of the Il-76.

"Because we can't produce as many planes at the same time as we used to, we have to queue up, and the back of the queue is naturally slow."

Kucherov did not hide this kind of thing - although he had done a lot of superficial work to welcome the arrival of the Chinese purchasing delegation during this time, the current situation of the factory was still known at a glance to those who knew the inside story.

Even if he doesn't say it, as long as the Chinese people spend a few days of hard work walking around the city of Tashkent, they can also understand the homely routines of Lala.

"In the past, this No. 1 workshop could assemble 12 large 200-ton aircraft at the same time, but now...... Only 3-4 are guaranteed. ”

There was a little loneliness in the old director's voice.

However, he then assured Liang Zhuoping and Huai Guomo:

"Even so, our price-performance and efficiency are already very high, and there is no other place in the world that can guarantee you 10 brand new strategic transport aircraft within two years, and the price...... We can talk about it later. ”

This is not a lie.

In fact, there are only three suppliers in the world that can provide strategic transport aircraft.

Among them, McDonnell Douglas, or Boeing's C17, will not be sold to Huaxia.

On the other hand, Antonov's side does not have the ability to produce An-124, and due to the restrictions of take-off and landing conditions, there is no competition between An-124 and Il-76.

The only competitor of the Chkalov plant was actually the 800 Il-76s that he had built in the past.

If the price is too high, it is entirely possible for the Chinese to turn around and buy old goods.

You must know that this time was the beginning of 1997, and the second-hand aircraft in the hands of the CIS countries were still in good condition.

Not to mention the distance, the Uzbek Air Force itself has more than a dozen Il-76s in their hands that are not needed at all, waiting to be released.

And the business of overhauling the Il-76 can be completed in places such as the Belarusian 571 Aviation Repair Plant, and the competition is fierce.

"Why stay later, I think we can start talking today."

……

Under the efforts of the profitable Mirziyoyev, the negotiations between Huaxia and the Chkalov plant on the current 10 aircraft went so smoothly that they did not even need to sit down at the negotiating table, and reached a verbal agreement directly in the cabin of an Il-76.

Due to the urgency of the factory to use the money, and the fact that these planes were originally prostitutes for Uzbekistan, there were no R&D expenses involved, and the 10 planes were packaged at a price of 108 million US dollars.

Of course, for Huaxia in this era, this can already be regarded as a shocking order.

But if Chang Haonan, who is in Yan Liang, sees this price, it will definitely be outrageous.

17 years later, in 2014, Huaxia bought three second-hand Il-78s from Ermao for a unit price of $45 million.

Even if the inflation rate of these years is calculated, the new machine with a unit price of 9.6 million can indeed be called a clearance sale.

Of course, the two sides still held a short ceremony the next day and gave the formal contract.

After all, they are all worried that the other party will regret it.

However, the subsequent negotiations with the Ilyushin Group and the Chkalov Plant on the purchase of the new Il-76MF transport aircraft were slow from the beginning.

Second-hand aircraft are the assets of the alliance in the past, and they are sold at a low price, but new aircraft, especially new aircraft that have just completed their first flight and have not yet been fully finalized, are another matter.

Lozko, for his part, has set the unit price at $33 million per plane, and must purchase at least 36 planes over the next 10 years.

Huai Guomo has no opinion on this amount, but the unit price of $33 million is still too high for Huaxia.

Project No. 11 saved a total of almost $2 billion, and more than half of it can't be handed over to Ilyushin, right?

This is external procurement in the pure sense of the word, and does not involve technology transfer.

After several days of confrontation, neither side was willing to budge.

So the negotiations came to an impasse.

"Why don't we contact that Comrade God of Wealth and ask him if he has any opinions?"

After the first round of negotiations, Liang Zhuoping put forward his own suggestions while talking and laughing.

(End of chapter)