Everyone only knows that China has received a lot of good equipment from the Soviet Union, but we don't know that we have also received some good things from Western countries.

[After the Sino-Soviet friendship, China got a lot of good things from the West]

Today, let's take stock of the technology and equipment imported by China from the UK, which can be called "not much money, the biggest profit".

Spey engines are important

In the 60s of the last century, with the bad relations between China and the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union directly withdrew its experts in China, and the development of China's defense technology was disconnected, and we began a long-term "black" stage.

You must know that China's industrial and technological foundation is already weak, and after a long war in the early days, it is difficult to develop without the help of external forces.

[China's early planes basically came from the Soviet Union]

Especially in the field of aviation, the engine as the "heart" of the aircraft, its role is quite critical, the performance of a fighter, many times depends on whether the engine is good, what the thrust level is.

Premier Zhou Enlai once pointed out at the aviation symposium:

"The aviation industry has heart disease, and we must treat this heart disease well. ”

According to the results of the research at the time, it was suggested that the introduction of Spey engine technology from the United Kingdom could be considered.

In the early 70s, the United States also introduced this engine and equipped it with F4K fighters. Since then, it has fought for the right to manufacture it.

[The F4K in the United States also uses the same engine]

At that time, the level of the British aviation industry was widely recognized, and the quality of the products naturally did not have to be said, even the United States was full of praise.

Therefore, we proposed to introduce Spey engine, not out of thin air, but on a solid basis.

Despite this, the idea of introducing Western technology and equipment, coupled with economic problems, was still hindered.

From the idea in 1971 to the formal submission of the report in 1973, China and the UK conducted six rounds of negotiations before finally introducing a patent contract in 1975.

Among them, this was indeed a big burden for China at that time (based on the exchange rate of 1:4.72 between the pound and the yuan that year, China spent more than 360 million yuan to introduce Spey engines).

Nevertheless, our efforts are proportional to what we gain, and according to the contractual objectives, the British side guarantees that we can replicate the same level of engines within three years, and build the same level of engines from domestic materials within five years.

During this period, China can apply for relevant training for personnel, and can also get help from British experts.

【Spey Engine】

In 1979, Xi'an Aero Engine Factory installed 4 engines and passed the relevant assessments.

From the most direct impact, it led to the development of the Continental turbofan 9 engine, which is mainly equipped with the J-7 Flying Leopard, giving it a good air strike capability.

In the long run, this is the initial stage of China's aero engine, which plays a huge role in China's development in the field of aero engine.

You must know that China's various achievements in the field of aviation today are not achieved overnight, and if it were not for the various preparatory work in the early stage, it would be difficult for us to have today's results.

[J-20 and other products can't come out of casual words]

The development of aero engines is very complex, involving a lot of work and industrial technology, and China has been lagging behind the world for a long time, and we don't even know how to start without the advanced experience of other countries.

We have been talking about independent development, but independent development should also pay attention to the practical foundation, if there is no way to think, no matter how much emphasis on independence, there is no way to start.

The so-called independent development refers to the development of its own products in addition to learning from the experience of other countries and combining with its own national conditions.

And through the relevant experience and technology learned, they can derive their own technology, do better, and expand their development in other fields.

Therefore, many people believe that

Introduced artillery

In terms of ground forces, we have also introduced the L7 105mm rifled tank gun, although there are "middlemen", but this product is British after all.

The L7 105mm rifled tank gun was a weapon developed by the United Kingdom specifically for the Soviet Union, when the Soviet Union's steel torrent posed a great threat to Western countries.

The average thickness of the armor of its main battle tank is thicker than that of the tanks of NATO countries, and the material is 42CM steel, which cannot be broken by ordinary artillery at all.

Although the caliber of the L7 105 mm rifled tank gun is only 105 mm, it can reach a speed of 10 rounds per minute, and the special barrel design makes it have a stronger armor penetration ability than guns of the same caliber.

During the Fourth Middle East War, the T54 main battle tank equipped by Syria was "disemboweled" by the L7 105mm rifled tank gun.

You know, although the T54 tank is a little behind, its armor level is basically the same as that of the T62, and the T62 was definitely a first-class tank at that time.

Therefore, China's introduction of the L7 105 mm rifled tank gun has also been considered in many ways, and the mainland has vigorously carried out imitation technology since then.

Significant progress has been made not only in the version for the own use of the PLA, but also in the international market for 105-mm shells.

From the current point of view, the economic benefits we have made from exporting 105 mm artillery shells have long exceeded the original cost of technology introduction.

Retrofit fighter aircraft

Finally, the UK has also assisted China in upgrading its equipment, mainly for avionics and other equipment.

At that time, the J-7 was facing a very embarrassing situation, due to the needs of China's economic development, we invested more in the economy, thereby reducing part of the military expenditure, and the J-7 upgrade project was naturally affected.

Foreign buyers have hard requirements for the performance of the J-7, for which we found the British Marconi Communications Company to provide relevant upgrade services, and after reaching an agreement, the two sides shared certain benefits.

In this way, the upgraded version of the J-7 has been successful in the international market, and now it has been exported to many countries, and we have also harvested very valuable technology.

Although at that time, we spent a lot of money on these technologies and equipment from the UK, but now when we look back, we will find that the money spent back then was not much, because we made full use of these technologies and equipment to "maximize" the profits, and the income has far exceeded the cost of introducing them.

Resources:

[1] People's Daily "British tank artillery armor technology once led the world, and our army's 105mm guns are also famous"

[2] China Military Network "Business Economics" in the European Arms Trade Market - People's Liberation Army Daily

[3] China Military Network "Military Industrial Circle - People's Liberation Army Daily -"

[4] China Military Network "Top 100 Military Industry List: "Ring" Competition Highlights - People's Liberation Army Daily