I'm not trying to be rude to the Russians but what do they realistically bring to the table as a supplier?
The Russians bring technologies that the West likely would not license or do not even have. Like the carbon fiber wing built out of autoclave. Which is a technology that companies like Airbus are working on but do not have in any product.
It is also pretty obvious that a lot of the work on designing and testing the airframe itself is done in cooperation with Russia. We have all these pictures of wind tunnel testing in Russia of the CR929. Why do you think that is happening in the first place?
And then there is the whole point with being sanctions resistant. If you do not mind spending like 8 years designing an aircraft, and probably ten billion in investment or more, only for the West to pull the rug on the project when it gets close to completion. Then sure. The West already did this with Russian MC-21 and Chinese MA700. And now with the Russian Superjet.
If China can import components then it's better to work with western suppliers like the C919 project. And if it can't then at this point there isn't anything aviation-related that Russia can build wholly on its own which China cannot.
Russia is still ahead of China in materials technology. How do you think the Russians got the technology to make the carbon fiber and the adhesive after the West sanctioned them purchasing it for the wing of the Irkut MC-21 thinking they would kill the project? When the US and Japan basically have a near market monopoly on carbon fiber and the US on adhesive? It is pretty simple if you look at it. The Russian fiber is made by UMATEX. Which is owned by Rosatom. And Rosatom uses carbon composite gas centrifuges for uranium enrichment at TENEX. Since it was a strategic product none of the materials in them were imported. The Russians already had the technology. They just needed to vastly ramp up the production of the material. Which they did.
Basically the West shot themselves in the foot. They lost the sales of the material, and they created a competitor. And the same thing will happen with the engines and everything else.
If you read what is happening with PD-8 engine development for the Superjet-NEW for example it can be pretty revealing. To speed up its development the Russians made NPO Energomash manufacture the hot sections of the engine for the prototypes. NPO Energomash is probably the world leader in rocket engine technology. There is a lot of overlap in both technologies. And NPO Energomash is no longer selling rocket engines to the US like they used to. So they likely had the spare capacity.
If UAC is going 110% on whatever they have to rebuild the Russian aviation sector then they may not have the slack to assist with Comac in any capacity.
Except the Russians have and are assisting COMAC. There is high level support for the wide body program in Russia all the way to the top level. One example is how the Russians did not de-fund the PD-35 engine work even despite the current situation, despite it being claimed by the press at one point. A lot of programs like the heavy transport aircraft program - PAK VTA - depend on the R&D which is being done on the wide body program. You can pretty much bet all the basic technologies for the program including the engines and the wing elements will be fully developed. Russia right now has one engine with enough power to be in a wide body in production (NK-32-02 engine for Tu-160M) and is developing two others (Izdeliye RF for PAK DA and PD-35 for CR929 and PAK VTA programs).
If Comac want to seek buys outside China then some degree of establishment western aviation would be needed.
Arguing about 100% Sanctions proof is fun but realistically the foreign commercial aviation sector is just that Foreign.
I mean if you want a CA1 or Military versions AEW,Tanker, Doomsday plane or whatever security, as many navigational, operational systems as possible with a secure supply chain. But that’s not the versions you would expect to sell commercially to anyone outside of Iran, North Korea or Cuba. For an air craft of this type it has to be compliant with the aviation regulations and laws of atleast two different countries.
Nope. What China needs to do is produce the aircraft. If it is successful then there will be exports eventually. The Soviet Union sold airplanes all over the world without FAA or EASA approval. China could sell to Latin America, Africa, and Asian markets easily if they have a decent product.
Plus it has to be maintained not just by Comac but by the operators who have their own partnerships with engine manufacturers. (Remember the airlines buy both the plane and engines separately) They have to handle operations at both The origin and destination. Has to be able to be repaired or maintained at both so a degree of flexibility in the components and parts share is required.
China needs to stop funding companies like Pratt & Whitney and GE directly or indirectly eventually. All the money they get from engine sales and services goes directly into the MIC for developing next generation military engines and vice versa. If anything I think China will want to capture a similar dynamic for itself eventually.
