Chapter 965: Let’s seek the opinions of the Chinese people on this matter


    All said and done, although the "cooperative relationship" between Stan Aerospace and Dassault has been around for a long time, the last interaction between the two parties was already a waste of money and goods, and now they want to find another partner to join the MK1A upgrade. Then you will definitely have to go through the process again.


    As we all know, in India, the efficiency of the process is still a little low.


    Even though everyone knows that hiring foreign aid is the only feasible way in front of them, let alone the final decision, just deciding to send a letter of inquiry to Dassault to confirm the intention to cooperate took almost half a month of wrangling. time.


    ??When this inquiry letter was actually sent out, 2001 had already passed.


    ? And this time coincides with Christmas, and the French are naturally enjoying the 14-day Christmas-New Year''s Day holiday.


    It is impossible to go to work.


    Therefore, it was not until the end of the first week of 2002, on January 7, that the Professional Client Division of Dassault Group finally reported this inquiry letter to the headquarters.


    In fact, generally speaking, this kind of thing is a written process, which is roughly equivalent to "call and ask before visiting an old friend''s house."


    It is almost impossible to get a no reply.


    ?Especially like LCA, it is said to be joint research and development, but in fact it is entirely Indians who pay for it and Dassault comes up with the solution. The execution is no different from a normal supplier contract.


    ??And due to India’s special national conditions, they are often a very weak party.


    Therefore, while waiting for confirmation from the group''s senior management, Cornell Bass, the head of the professional customer division, had already ordered his subordinates to dig out the technical data of the LCAMK1 type from the pile of old papers and regroup those who had participated in the past. The manpower for this project is—


    You should know that they just completed the design work on the upgraded model of Mirage 2000-9 before the Christmas holidays.


    It is also a tailless delta wing, a single-engine light aircraft, an air superiority model that has been greatly modified to be multi-purpose, and it also involves structural changes...


    ??It is difficult for Stan Aviation to draw inferences from three cases, but it is not difficult for Dassault to draw inferences from one case.


    ??It’s time to apply the same experience to LCA while your hands are still hot, and then cheat...and make a big sum of money back.


    ?However, no matter how hard they try, there is still no reply from the headquarters.


    You know, Bass has already decided on the team leadership positions that are going to be sent to India.


    This is equivalent to promising a benefit.


    Now that even the most basic confirmation of intention is being delayed, he feels a lot of pressure.


    ?Hence, a few days later, Bass, who was impatient to wait, began to wonder whether the last email failed to be delivered due to some technical reason.


    So, the second inquiry letter was forwarded repeatedly.


    ?However, it still remains unanswered.


    ?After receiving no response for two consecutive times, he finally realized that something was wrong with the direction of the wind as his mind was still immersed in the vacation and had not fully recovered.


    In this case, it is impossible that the above did not receive it.


    Rather it’s more like preparing for cold treatment…


    Actually, what Cornell Bass thinks is a bit complicated.


    The headquarters has no idea of ????cold treatment.


    It’s just that we haven’t made a decision yet.


    In fact, the secretary’s office reported the news to Ed Steiner as usual on the day it received the first email.


    Under normal circumstances, for this level of business, it is enough as long as he gives an approval opinion.


    ?But this time, Ed Steiner specifically found Serge Dassault and briefly introduced the situation to the latter.


    “LCA…”


    ?Dassault frowned slightly and flipped through a document in front of him.


    ??The last time the two companies cooperated, his main focus was almost entirely on the municipal elections in Corbeil-Essonne, and he did not particularly understand the ins and outs of it.


    Therefore, when he saw that the first demonstrator of this model rolled off the assembly line in 1995, but did not make its first flight until 2001, the nearly 80-year-old man shook his hands and almost dropped the document on the table.


    “We were really involved in the design of this aircraft?”


    ?Dassault confirmed a little nervously.


    “That’s not entirely true…”


    ? Ed Steiner considered the words:


    “We have provided certain technical support in the aerodynamic and structural design of the tailless delta wing. The three-stage leading edge slat is actually a modification of the plan designed for the Chinese people about ten years ago..."


    “As for the aircraft itself, uh... overall... probably... it should be considered that it was designed by the Indians themselves..."


    Hearing this explanation, Dassault was slightly relieved.


    “Since their second prototype has not yet flown for the first time, why are they so anxious to come to us for upgrades?”


    He closed the document, put it aside, and took a sip of coffee to calm down:


    "I didn''t even understand the basic model..." Dassault originally wanted to criticize a few more sentences, but then he remembered that his Rafale seemed to have skipped the F1 stage and was preparing to mass-produce F2 directly, so he suppressed the second half of the sentence. .


    “Our Rafale F1, although few are built, the technology is still very mature...”


    He recited it several times in his mind and warned himself never to make analogies with Indians.


    “The official statement given in the application letter is that the old model cannot meet the current tactical needs.”


    ?Ed Steiner shrugged playfully:


    “But I estimate that the actual reason is… I was stimulated by the improved J-10 that the Chinese suddenly put into service a month ago.”


    “You know, many people...especially the media are very willing to compare the two countries together. They are both third world countries, both have a population of about one billion, they are both Asian countries, and they are neighbors..."


    "Forget it...they are not countries on the same level."


    ? Dassault almost choked on the coffee in his mouth:


    “We and the Chinese people...that is technical cooperation in the true sense...”


    After a short pause, he even emphasized it again:


    “Peer-to-peer cooperation.”


    ??At present, one of the two core models of Dassault Group is being jointly developed with others, and the key technology of the engine of the other is in the hands of others.


    To say the least, it''s quite embarrassing.


    The only way to save face is to tout the technical strength of China’s partners.


    It can be said that Dassault now hopes that China can catch up with the Premier League and the United States more quickly than Chang Haonan.


    “So, that’s what I’m worried about too.”


    ? Ed Steiner took advantage of the situation to express his intention—


    The Indian is a fat sheep.


    This has been verified by the Russians.


    ?According to information gathered from multiple parties, the unit price of the Su-30MKI sold by Sukhoi to the Indian Army is much more expensive than the Su-27SM/UBM sold to Algeria, even if it cannot use the new generation enhanced version of the airframe.


    The price difference here is nominally the "technical guidance fee".


    Because Indians require that part of the final assembly work be completed in their own country.


    ?However, judging from Stan Air''s past performance, there is still a question mark as to whether it can guide one, two, and three.


    So based on this inference, the LCA upgrade project must be relatively profitable.


    But Dassault is currently tied a bit deeply to China, and we still have to think clearly about which is more important.


    Dassault on the opposite side can naturally understand the implication:


    “Are you worried that if the Chinese and Indians don’t deal with each other, if we provide technical support to the latter on LCA, it may affect the cooperative relationship between us and China?”


    Ed Steiner nodded, then shook his head:


    “It’s not just that…”


    “I am also worried that if we are really deeply involved in this upgrade project, our own brand will be damaged..."


    The second half of this sentence is obviously mostly a joke.


    ?However, it is very important.


    ?Whether it’s a person or a company, they always have face.


    ??If the projects obtained are rejected simply because of "Chinese objections", wouldn''t it appear that the Dassault Group is undervalued?


    ??And explaining it internally also hurts morale.


    So, at this time, you need a decent reason to deceive yourself...


    Sure enough, after hearing Ed Steiner’s second concern, Dassault’s originally frowning eyebrows relaxed a lot.


    “So be it.”


    He put the coffee cup back on the table:


    “Don’t go through official channels, let people confirm China’s attitude on this matter privately.”


    “As partners, you still have to respect them.”


    "in addition…"


    When Ed Steiner was about to get up and leave, Dassault suddenly stopped him:


    “After you go back, do an evaluation of the expectations of this project to see if it is likely to damage our company’s reputation.”


    “If the risk is really too great...then we should consider it carefully.”


    (End of this chapter)