China to rival US civilian and defense aerospace industries?
Yes.
Well at least that's what Boeing CEO thinks. This via National Defense Magazine.
Boeing CEO: Chinese Stealth Jet a Harbinger of Things to ComeInteresting.
Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of commercial airplanes for The Boeing Company, sees a day when China will compete with the United States for the international jet fighter and commercial aviation markets.
China unveiled its stealth fighter jet, the J-20, this week by carrying out a test flight on the second day of the Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ trip.
That timing of the test flight, as well as the aircraft’s true capabilities, have been the source of widespread speculation.
Albaugh, speaking to reporters in Washington, D.C., at an Aerospace Industries Association event, said he didn’t want to comment on whether the aircraft posed a security threat. However, it may mean competition for the U.S. industrial base, he added.
“They will at some point in time have a good airplane. We know they will. They went to space. They can probably do anything they want to do. They have the resources. They have smart people,” said Albaugh, who is serving as the 2011 AIA chairman.
Albaugh was previously president and CEO of Boeing Space and Communications.
He has been serving the company on the commercial aviation side for 15 months.
From an industrial standpoint, right now on commercial “we are competing against the Europeans. In the years to come, it’s going to be the Europeans, the Brazilians, the Canadians. It’s going to be the Chinese COMAC [Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China]. It could be the Russians,” he added.
“I think from an export standpoint, we will be increasingly challenged as an aerospace industry because the Chinese are going to be players, too,” he added.
In all the hoopla surrounding the J-20, I never considered the ramifications of this in total.
A moon landing?
Piece of cake for the Chinese now.
Building modern civilian airlines?
Easy.
Developing state of the art micro-processors?
Definitely.
How did we allow unfettered capitalism to arm a Communist nation with the technology needed to match our own capabilities?
Don't worry, China may have the most advanced technology in 20 years. And they may have the most advanced weapons. And they may have a much larger GDP than the United States. And they may have industrial might that dwarfs America.
ReplyDeleteBut we will have more Diversity! And Diversity=Strength! I learned that at the mandatory Diversity Awareness training seminar my company requires all employees to attend.
I learned that only with Diversity can anything good be accomplished. And the more Diversity the better. In fact, now that I think about it, it's impossible for China to build a stealth jet -- because they don't have any Diversity. They are all Han Chinese. That's not Diverse. And it's been proven that it's impossible to build advanced technology without Diversity, my Diversity Awareness instructor said so.
"it's impossible for China to build a stealth jet"
ReplyDeleteRight. And the J-20 is just a new coffee-machine...? Ask your money back.
Sol - I'm not saying China stole everything, but it is fact that a lot - and I mean A LOT - of high tech kit has been copied. And we're not just talking laptops here, but real, high end hard- and software. Just ask the Russians about their Flanker and S-300s.
It was only a matter of time that they learned via reverse engineering and kitbashing how to build their own unique computers, aircraft and what not.
I guess the West just underestimated the speed at which they reached this level.
did they steal it?
ReplyDeleteor did western corporations give it to them as a way to get into a future Communist Chinese middle class market place?
think about it.
they have General Electric building engines in their country. IBM, Apple and other computer firms are using Chinese labor.
they stole alot but alot was given.
they're going to use our capitalist greed to cut our own throats.
They haven't built a stealth jet. What they have built is an "X jet".
ReplyDeleteLet's not get carried away here people. The USA is currently producing it's (publicly known) fifth very low observable aircraft platform (or sixth depending on how you view things.)
U-2, SR-71, F-117, B-2, F-22A, F-35A.
China has wheeled out it's very first technology demonstrator. It's hardly the same situation and to say that they will be "exceeding" the USA in 20 years is just plain wrong.
In 20 years, the USA will have more than 1500 very low observable aircraft platforms in full operational service and they will be building 6th Gen VLO fighters and the Chinese will still be playing catch-up to where the USA is right now.
In case people didn't notice, Secretary Gates just delivered the biggest ever US defence budget and President Obama signed off on it.
The USA isn't falling behind anyone. Quite the contrary in fact.
Sol, how come everybody took a piece at the PAK FA but no one says anything bad about the J-20? The Russians make planes, the Chinese do only replicas.Isn't this just another publicity stunt that came just the right time in view of Korean tensions and possible weapons aquisition by Taiwan from US?
ReplyDeletehmm....good point. Sweetman and APA tried to build the PAK FA up into something monstrous but in the end, Russia has been in decline, its becoming reintegrated into Europe and few people think it has territorial aspirations.
ReplyDeleteChina is a whole different bucket of fish.
the old Russian bear isn't so scary...but the Communist Chinese Dragon?
plus you add in the modern history of warfare with Asian countries and i believe the west has a right to be wary of China.
"did they steal it?
ReplyDeleteor did western corporations give it to them as a way to get into a future Communist Chinese middle class market place?"
Couldn't agree more, Sol. Global corporations without national loyalty gave away American technology to stuff their own coffers.
The Dragon is much scarier in the 21st century than the Bear.
Aussie Digger, I agree that the US is still probably ahead of Chinese stealth due to the extensive experience in the projects you cite (and likely other black projects that aren't listed). However, if China continue to develop and build new generations of aircraft at a faster rate than the US, there is no reason to think that they couldn't surpass the US in the future if we continue to scale down aircraft production and cancel defense programs.
ReplyDeleteMost Americans barely even understand the country, the culture and its particular way of doing things let alone formulating strategies to effectively compete against it in foreseeable future. Frankly, most Americans still live in a state of self-delusion.
ReplyDeleteMake no mistake about it, PRC is a dragon and a rising power that will challenge us for decades to come.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/15/AR2011011504028_pf.html
"US air power: Made in India?"
ReplyDeleteDefense-related manufacturing are going oversea. Once oversea competitors know how to manage, manufacture and design complex civilian and defense projects, it will be a checkmate for the US.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2011/0304/US-air-power-Made-in-India