The CR-929 long-range wide-body large aircraft project, which was originally a Sino-Russian joint research and development project, went through a series of disagreements and cooperation breakdowns, and China decided to move forward with the project on its own and changed its name to C-929. Such a decision stems from the reluctance of the Russian side to provide key technologies and attempts to collect patent fees for C-929 sold in the Chinese domestic market in the future. China's aviation industry has made great strides in such a way that the experience and technology of aircraft development from Russia is no longer necessary. Recently, however, Russia seems to have reversed itself and tried to renew its cooperation.
According to the Russian Sputnik news agency, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and ** of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov said that Russia is ready to continue cooperation with China on long-range mainline aircraft projects, but the form of cooperation is changing, and the Russian side is focused on the development of aircraft components. In other words, Russia wants to become a supplier of parts for the C-929.
In the process of R&D and manufacturing of large aircraft, a large number of leading manufacturers are required to provide various parts. These companies play an important role, from large parts such as airframe materials and aero engines to small parts such as bulbs for in-flight lights. However, unlike the developer, the supplier can only provide support according to the component specifications, technical standards and time frame specified in the contract. Therefore, the current C-929 project is still independently developed by China, and not back to the CR-929 cooperation model.
From one point of view, in the field of modern twin-engine wide-body long-range large aircraft, Russia has lost its most critical technological advantage, that is, its overall design and integration capabilities. Therefore, after objectively assessing its own level, the Russian side chose to become a first-class supplier of parts. It is worth mentioning that the Russian-made Il-96 is the only four-engine passenger aircraft in the world that is still in mass production, and the four-engine aircraft has long been eliminated by the market and other manufacturers, indicating that there are certain deficiencies in the Russian aviation industry.
The key to judging whether a country can develop large aircraft with independent intellectual property rights is not the localization rate, but the overall design integration capability. The C-919 narrow-body trunk airliner is a good example. On the basis of independent intellectual property rights, gradually improving the localization rate is an important path for the healthy development of the machine. At present, the localization rate of C-919 has exceeded 60%, and it will be even higher in the future.
At present, the C-929 project is still the result of independent Chinese research and development, so China does not need to think too much about Russia's attitude and opinions. Even if the Russian side cooperates with China as a supplier, cooperation does not mean joint research, and China will always adhere to its own requirements for technical standards for components. If the Russian side can guarantee the quality and delivery time of components at a lower cost, it will have an advantage in future bidding work. However, if the Russian side is unable to do this, China will not give special attention and will only choose the most suitable ** businessmen. In order to get a contract with China, the Russian aviation industry needs to work harder.
After China independently promoted the C-929 large aircraft project, Russia re-proposed its willingness to cooperate, hoping to become a leading parts supplier. However, China has made great strides in aviation technology and is wary of the form of cooperation proposed by the Russian side. At present, C-929 is still the result of China's independent research and development, with independent intellectual property rights. China will adhere to its own technical standards and choose the best supplier that best meets its needs. For the Russian aviation industry, if it wants to get an order contract in the Chinese market, it needs to make more efforts to improve its own technical level.