This article first appeared in Aerospace Daily & Defense Report.
BEIJING — Chinese fighter builder Avic Defense aims to build a large business jet as part of its strategy of exploiting military technology for its civilian sidelines.
Avic Defense also will build up an aircraft maintenance operation catering for airline customers, company president Wang Yawei tells Aviation Week.
Wang emphasizes that the dominant business of Avic Defense will continue to be the supply of weapons to the Chinese armed forces. The company will pursue military exports, but the development of military products will be aimed mainly at local requirements.
In an interview, Wang did not elaborate on domestic weapons programs. Such announcements are reserved for generals, admirals and ministers.
Avic Defense already has substantial civil work, including center fuselages for the Bombardier C Series regional jet, rudders for Boeing 787s and parts for Airbus aircraft. Moreover, it is wholly responsible for building the Cessna 162 Skycatcher light sport aircraft.
The development plan for the defense unit has been drawn up by parent company Avic, Wang says. The efforts purposefully imitate France’s Dassault Aviation.
“As part of the development plan, Avic wants Avic Defense to exploit its defense resources to develop a high-end business aircraft, just as Dassault does,” the executive says. “Dassault is a very good fighter builder, and it makes very good business aircraft.”
Wang’s description of the proposed business jet as a high-end product and his reference to Dassault suggests that he is thinking of a large-cabin, long-range aircraft.
He rules out simply acting as a supplier for a separate business jet program proposed by sibling Avic General Aircraft. Avic Defense will build its own aircraft, he says. Avic General Aircraft has said its jet would be in the class of the Bombardier Challenger 850.
Wang also has clarified Avic Defense’s plans to develop an aircraft-support business. When the idea was raised earlier this year, it seemed that it might be restricted to military products, since the Chinese air force and navy would presumably be unwilling to allow foreign airline executives to enter sites that maintain Chinese combat aircraft.
But Avic Defense does plan to pursue airline customers, Wang says. He defines the proposed business as after-sales service and maintenance, including whole-life service.
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– Christian
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Be unique & drive BizJet competition alone.
Very cool investments for the US & for TransPac use alone IF jet has range.
Co produce in US?
irony. american managers managed it out to get Boing jet parts from state-owned chinese defense company. i will not wounder when they will pop up with designs like mixture of A380 and B787 bodies running by X-box computers.
–allow foreign airline executives to enter sites that maintain Chinese combat aircraft–
yeahh and for this dangerous moment in China we should let them own the gras around the White House.
Good Morning Folks,
For you neo-con. China watchers don’t get to excited about this, the aircraft being build is a 70-100 passenger business/regional commuter plane. Avic is basically assembling this aircraft, over 75% of the parts are imported (Russia, Canada, France, Brazil, Germany) and manufactured outside China, two thirds of the imported parts including the engines come from the United States.
This plane is not as of yet certified for international sales and most likely will be built in small numbers, 100-200 and serve on short haul domestic Chinese routs. It’s military value is negligible.
ALLONS,
Byron Skinner
I agree with Byron.
No point blocking export sales if we can! To be fair, the Chinese are never good at designing and building, so most of the design work will probably be done abroad too.
It’s a commercial aircraft, so all the important systems that are sensitive, in regards to defence, they aren’t included.
Providing we force them to use our manufacturing sites, I have no issue. No point exporting our manufacturing skills though, that would be a really big mistake!
Vstress,
"Providing we force them to use our manufacturing sites, I have no issue. No point exporting our manufacturing skills though, that would be a really big mistake! "
Couldnt agree more…….though we probably will and it will be haled as a good thing by a select group of retards.
Byron,
Oh come on not the Neocons!! thing again. Neoconservative is sucha stupid word.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoconservatism
So what is so evil about neoconservatism?
Seems to use both elements of right and left. Seems to be the middle ground to me.