Recently, a piece of news that shook the aviation industry has aroused widespread attention: according to internal sources in Russia's "United Aircraft Corporation", COMAC has expressed strong interest in Russia's self-developed large aircraft Il-96 and intends to issue a formal order. There are even rumors that the Chinese side not only hopes to purchase this transport aircraft nicknamed "Big White Goose", but also plans to introduce its production line and key technologies, and settle the second production line in Yanliang, Xi'an, China, where the famous "Xifei" company is located.
This news is like dropping a bombshell in the aviation circle, and people can't help but imagine what kind of changes will it bring to China's aviation industry if this cooperation comes true.
Since its first flight in 1988, the Il-96, a wide-body large passenger aircraft transport aircraft that once made its mark in the Soviet Union, has carved out a place in the aviation world with its powerful carrying capacity and versatility. Not only can it be used as a passenger aircraft carrying hundreds of passengers, but it can also be transformed into a cargo plane, a military command aircraft and even an air tanker, which shows its flexibility and practicality. And what people talk about the most is its status as a "Putin's special plane", Putin, Medvedev and other Russian dignitaries have taken this plane to visit various countries many times, including visits to China.
For China, the Il-96 does have a lot of appeal. At present, although China's self-developed C919 passenger aircraft has excellent performance, as a narrow-body passenger aircraft, its maximum take-off weight still needs to be improved. The latest model of the IL-96 has a maximum take-off weight of 265 tons, far exceeding that of the C919, and its strong carrying capacity can undoubtedly bring new breakthroughs to China's aviation industry.
However, despite the impressive performance of the Il-96, the possibility of this cooperation does not seem as rosy as the outside world thinks. Some experts pointed out that COMAC's own C929 wide-body passenger aircraft project is steadily advancing, and if the C929 can be delivered as scheduled, then the introduction of similar models such as the Il-96 seems to be a bit redundant. What's more, the Russian side has so far failed to build a modern high-speed production line for the Il-96, and its annual output is limited, making it difficult to meet the needs of large-scale deliveries.
In addition, China has always adhered to the concept of independent R&D and innovation, especially in the field of aviation industry. Although the introduction of the IL-96 production line and key technologies can improve the level of China's aviation industry in the short term, it is not a sustainable development path in the long run. What China hopes more is to master the core technology and production capacity through independent research and development to ensure that it is invincible in the future competition in the aviation market.
Of course, this does not mean that China will completely abandon cooperation with Russia. In the field of aviation industry, China and Russia have always maintained close cooperative relations, and both sides have a broad space for technical exchanges and project cooperation. In the future, with the deepening of cooperation between the two sides, there may be more opportunities and possibilities waiting for us to explore.
COMAC's interest in the Il-96 has undoubtedly injected new vitality into the aviation industry cooperation between China and Russia. But whether this cooperation will come to fruition will take time to tell. Let's wait and see, and look forward to the future of China's aviation industry!