they build thermonuclear devices but can't make a dependable jet engine...Ping
Oh boy — I’m sure the ChiComs are THRILLED with THAT development
For a very long time now, a military aircraft is not a mode of trasportation, it is a weapons platform.
If all you want is a fuselage, wings, and an engine, you can build an aircraft for $10 million.
However, if you want a fully integrated avionics package including a decent radar, navigation, smart bombs, targeting pods, electronic countermeasures, failure redundancy, computer controlled flight controls, electronic full authority digital engine control, etc., it will cost $50-60 million.
The cost of an aircraft is not just how much the steel, titanium, aluminum, and paint cost, but also how much it cost to design and develop the airframe. When you rip off someone else’s design, you bypass a large hunk of that cost.
I think that Russia might finally be seeing the light, or at least a glimmer of the light. Too bad they haven’t put 2 and 2 together on Iran yet.
plan B The WS-13 for Guizhou Aero Engine Group.
plan C The WS-9 or WS-9A for Xian Aero Engine Group.
chicom bump for later........
they build thermonuclear devices but can't make a dependable jet engine... and the wily chins couldn't see that coming??? my bookie coulda told me that...