China's transport, tanker & heavy lift aircraft
- Thread starter Totoro
- Start date
News are floating on Chinese social media that a company called 航铁集团 have purchased the wreckage of An-225 for disassembly:
I recall when that Motor Sich deal was being negotiated there was a lot of interest in Progress D-18T turbofan too. Is this engine still worth studying today if China could get hands on a working example?
I recall when that Motor Sich deal was being negotiated there was a lot of interest in Progress D-18T turbofan too. Is this engine still worth studying today if China could get hands on a working example?
asif iqbal
Lieutenant General
this is just sad
it was a marvel of the aviation industry
I really hope it can be resurrected
If the unfinished one is still in one piece, maybe it could be resurrected by building the second one.
Is this confirmed news? By the HTJTCL herself?
Also seems like I couldn't find the video on the company's Douyin account? Did they removed it after the brief leak?
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Lots of people do think it sounds like bullshit. How would it work logistically? Given the size of the wreckage someone will have to first disassembly it to be small enough to fit into a smaller plane. While Kiev is no longer front line it still seems like a difficult job to carry out there.
It's true that they would have to disassemble the An-225 wreckage on-site, since China does not have C-17 or An-124-sized cargo planes for transporting wreckage of such huge dimensions. That's not the hardest part, however.
Now I'm fairly certain that there are no Russian forces around Kiev anymore, so things would be calmer and less dangerous at Hostomel Airport. There are 3 ways to transport the disassembled An-225 wreckage from Ukraine to China, in my opinion:
1. Transport them over land across Russia, using tens or hundreds of container trucks. But, crossing the Ukrainian-Russian border when the war is still going on is pretty much an impossibility, and access to said border crossings are never guaranteed even when the war is over. Similarly, a Western land route by passing through European countries to Western ports before shipping them back to China is also a viable option, but that would risk unwanted suspicion (and possible deliberate blockage) from NATO countries;
2. Wait until the airspace is open to civilian flights again before flying them out using civilian-operated cargo planes (since using Y-20 would be too obvious). But who knows how long would that take before the Ukrainian airspace is open again; or
3. Ferry them out using cargo ships from the ports in Odessa. However, the frontline in southern Ukraine is pretty close to Odessa, which hightens the risks of accidentally getting caught in the line of fire. There is also the danger of running into naval mines in the Black Sea, plus possibly arousing suspicions from NATO countries in the Mediterranean, in case said cargo ships are disallowed from using the Suez Canal.
On the other hand, the Douyin short was published on the official Douyin account of HTJTCL (before seemingly being deleted shortly after). It does beg an important question - Is this temporary published Douyin short a deliberate "leak" by the company?
Though, as a side information, the HTJTCL company was formed on March 11 this year, which is just a week after the destruction of the An-225 was confirmed at Hostomel Airport. The invested amount for the formation of said company is 600 million RMB, or close to 90 million USD (26th May 2022 transaction rate).
The HTJTCL company, according to the company's official website, is a "multi-business group integrating new aircraft leasing and procurement, old aircraft recycling and dismantling, aircraft operating lease purchase and leaseback, fleet planning, fleet upgrading, used aviation materials and parts sales, retired aircraft supply, aviation asset management, aviation maintenance guarantee, and other diversified businesses."
If the information is indeed accurate, it does seem like the HTJTCL was formed in response of the An-225 destruction in Ukraine. Or it may just be a coincidence, but who knows?
Deep down, I was hoping that said "leak" would come out after those wreckage pieces are already in China, just so that the West couldn't pull an ex-Varyag 2.0 on China.
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Why would Ukraine do anything to support China's aerospace industry? Or China in general? Beijing supports Putin's invasion.
Beijing is neutral on the issue is it not?
As for why, for money, of course. Same reason why they sold the Varyag, same reason why they tried to sell their one Slava-class cruiser Ukraina, same reason why there was a deal being negotiated for Motor Sich until Trump got elected. In the end it's all about money.
China claims neutrality, but domestically the CCP parrots Putin's propaganda - Kiev is well aware of this. Also, USA kyboshed sale of Motor Sich, and I expect they would do similar with any AN-225 deal - even assuming such a deal is in the offing, which I highly doubt.