Who would have thought that we would inadvertently lock the throat of the United States. However, the countries that were really hit hard were India and South Korea. What is even more shocking is that all this happened in the field of aviation engines, which the United States once firmly controlled.
The "Glorious Fighter" is full of surprises and challenges
India has brought us an exciting news: After more than 40 years, the third-generation aircraft, the "Glorious Fighter", which was carefully built at the level of the second-generation aircraft at the cost of the fourth-generation aircraft, has finally entered the mass production stage! This fighter has made great achievements and has already proved its strength in many battles. It has successfully "outlasted" many old opponents, and even our J-6, J-7, and J-8 are eclipsed by it. If it is not mass-produced as soon as possible, even our J-10 will face the fate of retirement.
Obstacles come: The unexpected situation of the US F404 engine
However, the good times did not last long, and this batch of "Glorious fighters" may face difficulties in production. Although this fighter is said to be a purely domestically produced fighter in India, its core engine relies on the F404 turbofan engine of the United States. Unexpectedly, after several months of delay, the United States suddenly announced the suspension of production of the F404 engine, citing problems in the supply chain as the reason.
The third brother hurriedly asked the reason, and America from the United States reluctantly revealed that it was because "Dongda" stopped supplying turbine blades. The third brother angrily responded: "I didn't stop supplying you!" America explained: "I was talking about you, the other "Dongda", the bigger one." The third brother helplessly expressed his doubts: "Didn't you say that this engine is of pure American blood?" America calmly responded: "Yes, the biggest feature of pure American blood is mixed blood."
Behind export controls: Our countermeasures against the US
At the same time, Mr. Dan recalled that on May 30 this year, China's Ministry of Commerce, the General Administration of Customs, and the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission jointly issued an announcement to implement export controls on relevant items. These controlled items mainly involve the aerospace field, including high-end equipment such as aircraft engine manufacturing, gas turbine engines, and space suit windows and related technical software, and even ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers used in bulletproof helmets and bulletproof vests.
More specifically, it involves directional crystal or single crystal casting equipment of high-temperature alloy materials such as blades, guide vanes, casings, etc., as well as intermediate products of precision casting. This means that the equipment, tools, software and technology required to manufacture these key components, and even related semi-finished products and raw materials, are strictly prohibited.
I think this not only shows our maturity in engine manufacturing, but also means that our complete machines or parts have won wide recognition in the market, and even the enemy camp has begun to purchase our products. If these engines and blades are of poor quality, who will buy them? Moreover, this is a package of countermeasures against the United States, indicating that our market share is large enough to become a card in the hands of the United States.
The core position of engine manufacturing and China's strategic countermeasures
Although aircraft engines are not the jewel in the crown of industry, they are the "Soetu" of the industrial crown, and their status is comparable to that of photolithography machines. The turbine blades are the jewel in the crown and the darling of the engine. Turbine blades play a vital role in aircraft engines. They must be able to withstand temperatures of thousands of degrees Celsius, tens of tons of pulling force, and tens of thousands of high-speed rotations per minute. They are one of the most core and difficult components to develop.
For a long time, aircraft engines, especially turbine blades, have been firmly controlled by the United States. However, now we have begun to ban the export of these key components and even have the ability to use them to counter the other side. This is undoubtedly a huge surprise and unexpected, marking a major breakthrough in our high-end manufacturing field.
The reasons behind the discontinuation of the US F404 engine
Looking back at the original news, although it was not explicitly stated that the United States could not deliver engines to India because China stopped supplying them, a careful analysis reveals clues. As a mature product, the F404 engine has always received orders from Poland, Indonesia, South Korea and other countries, and General Electric will not easily stop production. However, now that it has to stop production, there must be serious problems in the supply chain.
Obviously, the only variable is China's supply cut. The only company that can provide key components and dare to cut off supply to the United States is the larger "East China University". A one-day delay in delivery may trigger a chain reaction, leading to a complete stagnation of orders.
The supply cut-off action on the timeline and the dilemma of the F35 fighter
Let's sort out the timeline: On May 30, China announced a supply cut, which was implemented on July 1. The United States then announced a delay in delivery to India. By early September, it was completely unable to deliver, and suggested that India try to use second-hand engines. However, as the glory of India, the Tejas fighter will never accept second-hand engines, and continued to ask General Electric to find a solution. General Electric suggested replacing other models of engines, but this would require redesigning the fighter, and India refused again.
In the end, GE said it could only provide engines without blades, and India needed to solve the problem of blades on its own. This was like a customer ordering a bowl of beef offal, but found that the key heart was missing. India was furious, but had no choice but to wait for the engine to arrive. Faced with such an embarrassing situation, India asked about the procurement channel for blades, but Americus suggested buying them from the larger "East China University of Aeronautics and Astronautics", which undoubtedly hurt India's self-esteem, because the original design of the "Glorious Fighter" was aimed at "East China University of Aeronautics and Astronautics".
America had to come up with another plan, and asked her son Han Guo to purchase from Dongda. However, Han Guo became anxious and quickly refused, claiming that it had already owed Poland an order for engine blades and could not purchase any more. This series of quarrels made Indonesia quickly cancel its cooperation with South Korea on the development of the fifth-generation aircraft to avoid the project being left unfinished.
The stagnation of the F35 stealth fighter: the hidden worries of the US military industry
Another circumstantial evidence is the F35 stealth fighter project of Lockheed Martin, a US military giant. Since last year, F35 orders have been delayed. In 2023, the delivery of F35 was only 97, far below the target; and in the first half of 2024, it was almost stagnant, with zero deliveries in the last 14 months. However, the apron of Lockheed Martin's assembly plant is full of new aircraft, indicating that the production of the aircraft body has been completed, but it cannot meet the delivery standards.
The root of the problem is obviously a broken supply chain, which may involve fuselage materials, airborne parts such as paint and radar, etc. Judging from the timeline, this may not be just a problem with the blades, but more likely a problem with key parts such as fuselage paint and radar.
On February 16, 2023, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon were included in China's unreliable entity list, prohibiting them from engaging in import and export activities related to China, especially prohibiting the use of Chinese parts and raw materials. In addition, in July last year, China's Ministry of Commerce began to implement export controls on key items such as gallium and germanium, which are essential for military phased array radars, further hitting the production and delivery of F35.
What's more, a 2022 U.S. industrial survey found that all F35 fighters produced and delivered contain parts from China, including key magnets. China revised its export restriction catalog in December 2022 and included magnets in the embargo list, causing F35 production to be in trouble.
The US "Immunity Crisis" and China's Counterattack
The United States once tried to continue to import drones from China through an exemption policy, but China quickly fought back and announced control measures on drone exports. This series of measures has dealt a heavy blow to the U.S. military industry chain, while China's countermeasures have demonstrated our strong influence in key areas.
