[Epoch Times September 27, 2021](Epoch Times reporter Li Yan comprehensive report) According to three sources with knowledge of the situation, it was revealed to Reuters that China’s C919 jet did not appear at the Zhuhai Air Show this week. The reason is that, affected by the strict export controls of the United States, the aircraft with the longest development period in the aviation industry has become increasingly difficult to obtain certification and achieve its production goals.
Sources said that the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) has been unable to obtain timely help from suppliers, and some spare parts have been used up.
In December 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce included state-owned COMAC and other companies with ties to the Chinese military on the sanctions list. Unless permission is obtained, companies subject to sanctions will be subject to U.S. export restrictions and cannot arbitrarily purchase U.S.-related products and technologies. This makes the C919 project, which has been in development for 13 years, even worse, unable to get timely certification.
C919 cannot compete with Airbus and Boeing
These sensitive sources, who asked not to be named, said that suppliers with links to the United States are gradually obtaining permits, a process that has caused delays of several months and may affect the early production of the aircraft.
So far, COMAC has received 815 temporary orders, but only China Eastern Airlines’ orders for five jets have been confirmed.
Eastern Airlines said in August that it expects to receive the first C919 before the end of this year (2021); two in 2022; and two more in 2023.
This production growth rate means that the C919 will not pose a threat to Airbus and Boeing at least in the short term. The two rivals from Europe and the United States produce dozens of narrow-body aircraft every month.
Alex Krutz, an aerospace supply chain expert at Patriot Industrial Partners, a US aerospace consulting firm, said: “One of the biggest obstacles will be the supply chain, especially the current inflation, material supply and supplier changes. .”
He added that suppliers may “have no working capital” to make post-certification adjustments, and they are not willing to continue to support start-up projects such as C919, which are slow to progress, as they were a few years ago.
The Chinese Communist Party initially said that the first flight of the C919 passenger plane was carried out in 2014 and it was delivered in 2016, but it has been delayed repeatedly. The first flight was postponed from 2014 to 2015 and 2016, and finally took place in May 2017; the Chinese Communist Party officially stated that it will be delivered in 2021.
The certification time lags behind the plan for many years. This is one of the reasons why COMAC failed to take the C919 to the Zhuhai Air Show, the largest air show in China.
However, an industry insider told Reuters: “Despite so many problems, COMAC is very determined to obtain certification because this is one of the most important political tasks.”
C919 is part of the Chinese Communist Party’s “big aircraft” domestic production plan. The Chinese Communist Party’s official media stated that the C919 has achieved a localization rate of nearly 60% and will strive to eventually achieve 100% localization.
According to sources, the C919 may obtain a type certificate issued by the Chinese aviation regulatory agency before the end of this year, but there will be a long list of restrictions on flight operations. The source said that even if the certificate is obtained, COMAC must upgrade.
COMAC and the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) did not respond to requests for comment.
Experts deny the prospect of full localization of the CCP’s “big aircraft”
Sources familiar with the C919 project said that the aircraft’s certification model and slow production speed seem to be the same as its predecessor, the ARJ21 regional aircraft.
After ARJ21 obtained the “Type Certificate” for design safety, it took another two and a half years to obtain the “Production Certificate” for mass production.
So far, about 60 ARJ21 aircraft have been delivered, but production growth has been slow. According to data from COMAC, the output of the aircraft was two in 2017 and 24 in 2020.
At this moment, the C919 is in the so-called “batch production” stage, and each aircraft needs the signature of the regulatory agency.
The Voice of America reported on September 14, 2020 that Scott Kennedy, Senior Advisor for China Business and Economics of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Scott Kennedy, in an interview with the media, directly denied the CCP’s “big plane”. “The prospect of full localization.
“The C919 passenger plane is only a Chinese plane in name. Everything that can make this plane fly is Western; its supply chain cannot be called a global supply chain. It is actually a Western supply chain and mainly the United States. Supply chain.”
Before the C919 passenger plane, China put into operation the regional aircraft ARJ21 in 2016. Gan Side said that the C919, like the ARJ21, is basically imported from the West and assembled in China in terms of airframe and parts, such as tires, landing gear, and engines. The frame of ARJ21 is basically McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft.
It is reported that the engine of the C919 is produced by CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric of the United States and the French Safran Group, while the engine of the ARJ21 comes from Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut, the United States.
GE Aviation provided the C919’s core avionics system, display system, airborne maintenance system and integrated avionics system services. In addition, COMAC’s key suppliers also include: Honeywell, BE Aerospace, Donaldson, Moog and Parker Hannifin Hannifin).
Editor in charge: Lin Yan#
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