alt Hacker NewsThis may be a stupid question - but can't China just buy some airbus/boeing planes, take the engine apart and then manufacture each part as is?
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Chinese firms already manufacture parts of Rolls Royce engine. I think Wuxi Turbine is one example
No. They do this of course, but with jet turbines the materials science and processes aren't deducible from the work product.
The manufacturing is really deeply gnarly. Like crazy materials you'd have to reverse engineer the production process for, then reverse engineer how to form the blades so they'll survive insane loads for thousands of hours of operation without failure under extreme temperatures. It's like saying you can make a MacBook chassis because you have a block of aluminum, some hand files, and an Adderall prescription.
Alegedlly they tried, but Airbus didn't fall for it. Search for "Ghost plane Airbus A320 C919" if you want to expand. It is a case of "we have no proof, but we have no doubt": China buys a bunch of A320, one of them disappears and never flies. After some time, a A320 clone C919 appears on their market.