Back in the 90s of the last century, China's military exports at that time were not as tall and advanced fighters, missiles, tanks, etc., as they are today.
Its Chinese-made Y-12 transport aircraft can be regarded as a business card of China's military industry, which has been exported to many third world countries and has laid a good reputation.
【China's military business card products 12】
However, the export of Y-12 is not all smooth sailing, and when it was exported to Kenya, there was a public relations crisis that said big and small, what is going on?
The Y-12 was exported to Africa
In 1995, a foreign trade delegation from AVIC took a flight to Kenya on the African continent, and their mission was simple: to sell AVIC's Y-12 transport plane to the Kenyan government.
[Group photo of the Chinese representative and the responsible personnel of Kenya]
As soon as they met with the representatives of the Kenyan Air Force, the other party's words calmed the hearts of the mainland delegation, and the commander of the Kenyan Air Force said that they really did not have much money and could not afford to buy tall Western planes.
When our representative heard this, he immediately smiled, "If there is no money, the Yun-12 is for countries that have no money, and if Kenya is rich, it may not be able to look down on high-quality and low-cost Chinese products."
However, the Kenyan Air Force is poor, and their Air Force Commander is quite an expert, and when he heard that our side reported the performance parameters of the Y-12, the Air Force Commander seemed a little hesitant, and he realized that there are indeed some gaps between Chinese transport aircraft and Western products in terms of performance.
【Yun 12 introduced by other countries】
Our representatives saw that the Air Force Commander was going to stop talking, but they did not panic, because then our representative told the Kenyan Air Force Commander that the unit price of the Y-12 was only 25 million yuan.
As soon as he heard this price, the other party immediately left some shortcomings in performance behind, after all, the performance is almost a little worse, and it is not unusable, but the price of 25 million yuan is much cheaper than Western transport aircraft, and even Kenya can afford to buy a whole fleet.
The commander of the Kenyan Air Force immediately said that he wanted to buy 12 planes, and the chiefs of the general staff of the three Kenyan armed services who were attending the meeting also nodded again and again, for fear that the Chinese representative would withdraw the offer.
【Happy Cooperation! Happy Cooperation】
The two sides immediately began to work on the introduction of 12 Y-12 related contracts, and finally the Kenyan side said that it would pay for six of them first, and wait until the funds returned to make up the final payment.
The representative of China was also aware of the financial situation of the African countries and did not raise any objections, and it was a good thing that the planes could be sold.
Of course, there is another reason why the mainland is not afraid of Kenya's debts, Kenya is actually a very good economy in an African country, and it can generate a large amount of income every year from the export of grain and fruits.
【Kenya food and fruits are very good】
We have estimated that Kenya's economic level is fully sufficient to support its purchase of these 12 transport aircraft, so the two sides have a certain foundation of trust.
Moreover, the Y-12 was originally a star product in China's military exports, and even military industrial powers such as the United States and Russia have placed orders, and they are interested in the incomparable cost performance of the Y-12.
But no one expected that such a seemingly appropriate export later caused a rather serious turmoil, and even rumors of quality problems with the Y-12 appeared in the international community for a time.
[Yun 12 had an accident]
Catastrophic accidents
It all started after the delivery of the Y-12.
Traditionally, China's military exports come with technical support, and Chinese pilots and ground crews train user countries to ensure they have the ability to operate their fleets.
But Kenya rejected the Chinese service, citing the possibility of leaks by Chinese technicians entering the Kenyan air base.
This statement also made the Chinese side laugh and cry, Kenya, an African country, has any secrets worthy of China's prying eyes, but since others are unwilling, the mainland does not force it, anyway, the contract has already been fulfilled.
【Export to foreign countries 12】
Unexpectedly, just two months after the plane was delivered, a vicious accident occurred due to brake failure, and under the propaganda of the Western media, the international community was full of rumors of a Y-12 plane crash due to quality problems.
On the one hand, there is international pressure, and on the other hand, China Aviation Technology itself is wondering: The Y-12 has no cutting-edge technology, and it is just an air truck, so how can there be a problem of brake failure? After communicating with the Kenyan side, the other side agreed that the mainland investigation team should be stationed in the investigation and inspect the rest of the Y-12.
[Kenya finally agreed to investigate the accident]
It was such a check, and the results shocked the mainland investigation team, because all the Y-12s on the Kenyan side were not equipped with brakes.
The reason for this accident is naturally clear, because Kenya refused the technical services provided by the Chinese side, the Kenyan Air Force did not understand the Y-12 at all, and began to fly without installing the brakes, which is strange without an accident.
After the truth of the accident was announced, the Western media were collectively silenced, and the Kenyan official also felt that it was a little difficult to save face, and no longer mentioned the leak, obediently accepted the technical assistance provided by the Chinese side, and also purchased an additional 6 planes to express support for China's aviation products.
【Export to other countries 12】
Aside from this accident in the early years, the Y-12's attendance record in the Kenyan Air Force is perfect, and the Kenyan military believes that the Y-12 fleet has saved it 40% of transportation costs and increased the Kenyan army's airlift capacity.
Over the decades, Kenya's regime has undergone many changes, but CAIC has been persistently fulfilling the technical support promised in the original contract.
Later, in accordance with Kenya's requirements, the mainland also converted many of the Y-12s into medical planes, equipped with modern medical equipment, which can complete rescue and injury treatment in the air.
[Kenya is not the only one that chooses to change part of the Y-12 to a medical machine]
Through the cooperation between the two countries on the Y-12, China and Kenya have established a high level of mutual trust, and China has become Kenya's largest overseas investor, extending the cooperation projects between the two countries to various fields, gaining a reliable African partner.
Resources:
[1] ""Struggle for a Hundred Years, Set Sail for a New Journey, Butterfly Change" Yun 12 "Flying Sky"丨Soaring to the World with 14 Countries "Passports", Harbin News Network
[2] "You, after so many years, are still charming!" Government affairs: aviation industry
[3] "Yun 12 - the pride of China's civil aircraft", China Aviation News