W.E.B. Du Bois
03-13-2012, 04:37 PM
China entered into negotiations to build the Russian Su-27 air superiority fighter by itself in Chinese factories in the early 1990's.
http://precise3dmodeling.com/models/images/su-27sk/su-27sk_large.jpg
Russia never gave China the ability to build the Su-27's (Flanker) radar or engines, but it did show China how to build the airframe. I used to think that Russia was taking advantage of military embargoes placed on China by the West after the Tiananmen Square Massacre in the 1980's to give China a bad deal on the Flankers. After all, Russia would later grant full technology transfer rights to the same plane to India ten years later.
However, after reading some recent Chinese military news, I see that Russia's fears of China re-exporting Russian products to other countries could be a well-founded fear.
Example:
http://cnair.top81.cn/helo/Z-9WA20.jpg
http://cnair.top81.cn/z-8_z-9_z-11.htm#Z-9W
Z-9W is the first indigenous anti-armor attack helicopter derived from the license-built AS-365N. Its main armament are four KD-8 wire-guided ATGMs (range 600-3,000m, armor penetration >800mm). Besides anti-tank missiles, it can carry also two 57mm/90mm rocket pods, or two 12.7mm machine gun pods, or two 23mm cannons, or four TY-90 IR-guided AAMs.
...
A similar variant (Z-9ZH) is also in service with the PLAAF unit stationed in Hong Kong (S/N 620x). It was reported that 4 Z-9WEs were delivered to Kenya in 2010, marking the first export success of this variant.
The name "Dauphin" made me think the helicopter was originally French, and sure enough it was originally built by the French company Aerospatiale (it later merged into the European Mega Defense Conglomerate EADS).
So there you have it, China receives a license to build French helicopters, is taught how to do by the French, then they knock France out of their own business, exporting French helicopters from Chinese factories with (I believe) 100% of the profits going back to China, and exporting those choppers around the world.
The only way I see that this kind of situation can be avoided is for a contract to be written up that forbids China from doing this. Contracts should be legally enforceable and contracts are an everyday part of doing business in international trade.
http://precise3dmodeling.com/models/images/su-27sk/su-27sk_large.jpg
Russia never gave China the ability to build the Su-27's (Flanker) radar or engines, but it did show China how to build the airframe. I used to think that Russia was taking advantage of military embargoes placed on China by the West after the Tiananmen Square Massacre in the 1980's to give China a bad deal on the Flankers. After all, Russia would later grant full technology transfer rights to the same plane to India ten years later.
However, after reading some recent Chinese military news, I see that Russia's fears of China re-exporting Russian products to other countries could be a well-founded fear.
Example:
http://cnair.top81.cn/helo/Z-9WA20.jpg
http://cnair.top81.cn/z-8_z-9_z-11.htm#Z-9W
Z-9W is the first indigenous anti-armor attack helicopter derived from the license-built AS-365N. Its main armament are four KD-8 wire-guided ATGMs (range 600-3,000m, armor penetration >800mm). Besides anti-tank missiles, it can carry also two 57mm/90mm rocket pods, or two 12.7mm machine gun pods, or two 23mm cannons, or four TY-90 IR-guided AAMs.
...
A similar variant (Z-9ZH) is also in service with the PLAAF unit stationed in Hong Kong (S/N 620x). It was reported that 4 Z-9WEs were delivered to Kenya in 2010, marking the first export success of this variant.
The name "Dauphin" made me think the helicopter was originally French, and sure enough it was originally built by the French company Aerospatiale (it later merged into the European Mega Defense Conglomerate EADS).
So there you have it, China receives a license to build French helicopters, is taught how to do by the French, then they knock France out of their own business, exporting French helicopters from Chinese factories with (I believe) 100% of the profits going back to China, and exporting those choppers around the world.
The only way I see that this kind of situation can be avoided is for a contract to be written up that forbids China from doing this. Contracts should be legally enforceable and contracts are an everyday part of doing business in international trade.