We were worried that it would happen, and according to reports from U.S. media Reuters, the United States has banned American companies from selling products and technology to the C919, including engine-related technologies.
Since the LEAP-1C engine used in the C919 is jointly developed by the U.S. and France, with the U.S. announcing a ban on technology sales, we certainly cannot continue using this engine.
Many netizens are concerned about the fact that 60% of the components of the C919 are purchased from abroad, and now that the U.S. has announced a cutoff, will our C919 face an early end?
Indeed, many of the related components of the C919, such as the fly-by-wire flight control system, auxiliary power unit, weather radar, simulation systems, including tires, are purchased from American enterprises.
However, we must make it clear that if the U.S. cuts off supplies, the ones who suffer are not China but American companies. Our main purpose of purchasing foreign components is to obtain airworthiness certification from the U.S. and Europe. The modern civil aviation industry is led by Europe and America, with Boeing (the U.S.) and Airbus (Europe) monopolizing nearly 90% of the global market for large passenger jets. Over the long term, Europe and America have established mature airworthiness assessment systems, such as the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the CS standards of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). These standards serve as blueprints for global safety technical specifications. Through decades of accident investigations and technological iterations, Europe and America have accumulated rich airworthiness databases. This credibility prompts most countries to align themselves with European and American standards to enhance their own safety levels. As a result, most countries around the world recognize the airworthiness certificates issued by Europe and America, and obtaining these certifications allows us to enter the aviation markets of most countries worldwide.
Therefore, we try to procure parts from the U.S. and Europe so that they can evaluate the overall design and integration work of the C919 without blocking us. This way, we can obtain airworthiness certification more quickly.
While using foreign parts, COMAC has already considered this situation. Any part on the C919 can be domestically replaced, including engines. The current biggest challenge is that, with the U.S. now banning the sale of engines, it will take some time for our domestically produced engines to catch up. Since the CJ-1000A is still in the installation and test flight phase, mass production is still some time away, so we need to hurry.
Our C919 was already slow in ramping up production capacity. Now, with the U.S. cutting off supplies of parts and engines, our production lines will definitely need some time to adapt. In the short term, there will be an impact on the C919, but in the long run, it will create a new miracle in the world's aviation industry, which is that one country achieves complete independent manufacturing of large aircraft.
As for airworthiness certification, at present, the production capacity of the C919 cannot yet meet domestic demand. During this period, we should try to negotiate with other countries to recognize China's airworthiness certification. Look at ASEAN, Central Asia, Russia, etc., as potential targets. As more and more countries recognize China's airworthiness certification, it will actually increase China's influence in the global aviation market and become the third pole outside the U.S. and Europe.
Instead of worrying about the C919, people should worry about Boeing. Because of the hollowing out of American manufacturing, Boeing has been "multinational" for a long time. Boeing itself is responsible for the most technically challenging design and assembly of large commercial aircraft. Indeed, the highest difficulty in large aircraft technology is assembly. The core of large aircraft integration processes is not simply about assembling parts but rather an extremely complex system engineering peak, testing the ultimate integration of design, materials, processes, management, and supply chain capabilities.
Firstly, a modern large passenger aircraft contains millions of parts from hundreds or even thousands of suppliers worldwide. Precisely positioning, connecting, and securing these precision-designed parts with strict tolerances (especially large structural components like wings and fuselage segments) in three-dimensional space is itself a major technical challenge.
Secondly, assembly is a melting pot of multidisciplinary and multisystem integration. An airplane is not just a shell made of metal or composite materials; it is a highly complex "flight system": fuel systems, hydraulic systems, avionics systems, electrical systems, environmental control systems, flight control systems, etc., must be precisely wired and installed within limited space, ensuring no interference between them and reliable functionality. On the final assembly line, thousands of cables and pipelines need to be precisely laid out, connected, and tested. A misconnection of a cable bundle, a leak in a pipeline, or a slight deviation in the installation angle of a sensor could lead to system failure, making troubleshooting extremely difficult. This requires the assembly process to have strong planning, coordination, and a deep understanding of the entire aircraft system.
In short, only two countries in the world can complete the integration and assembly of large aircraft: China and the United States. Airbus is still a product of collective efforts in Europe. You see, 40% of Boeing's parts come from Japan, but Japan cannot manufacture large aircraft, nor can it produce regional jets.
Boeing gets 20% of its parts from China. If the U.S. blocks and stops sales of the C919, it must prepare for countermeasures from China, and then the impact will fall on Boeing.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7509886563698868755/
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