Can we use Chinese engine with T129 for domestic production if there is any chance of local production?
@Cookie Monster @Caprxl
I doubt that there exists a Chinese engine that happens to meet all the requirements from the get go...like its dimensions and thrust.
If by luck u find one that is super close...it most likely will still require some modifications...which means more time and testing.
What's more likely is that(assuming that the Chinese and Turks agree to this) China will have to develop one from scratch...which at that point why not just wait for the Turkish engine which is further along in development than something that would just start now. Additional things to consider is that it would be an expensive thing to pursue...bcuz it would most likely be limited to Pak...
--> China wouldn't buy a T129 equipped with Chinese engine(they have other helicopters that are completely Chinese).
--> Turkey wouldn't buy T129 with a Chinese engine since they have already experienced the drawbacks of using a foreign engine...and their own is just a couple years off at best.
--> Other countries that might potentially buy T129 wouldn't be too keen to buy it with the Chinese engine bcuz by the time the negotiations are done with Turkey...their engine would either be operational or close to being operational...so it would be much easier to go with a Turkish helicopter with a Turkish engine.
The R&D cost and a limited production run of maybe a couple hundred engines at best(for just Pakistani T129s)...would mean each engine would cost a lot more than a similar type of mass produced engine.
And the above is assuming that Chinese and Turks agree to this...which I doubt they will. China would logically want to push for its Z10 instead...
...whereas Turkey would want us to sell ones with their own engines citing the same thing that at best it would mean the same delay if not more.
