評論
打印
Britain's aerospace industry
英國航天工業
Flight plan
飛行計劃
Can Britain remain a planemaking superpower?
英國能維持飛機制造強國地位嗎？
THE sleek de Havilland Comet, the world's first commercial passenger jet, was designed and built in Britain 60 years ago. It is a dozen years since the last passenger jet, a small regional airliner, was assembled in the country. This would neatly illustrate a familiar tale of industrial tailspin were the industry not in such fine fettle. Britain is currently the world's second-largest aerospace manufacturer, with 17% of the global market, behind only America. But staying at that altitude will be tough.
哈維蘭彗星型客機是世界上第一架商用客機，由英國于60年前設計與制造。距最后一架客機—一架小型支線飛機在該國組裝已經十幾年了。要不是這個產業處于如此良好的狀態，這將恰好呈現一個司空見慣的工業不景氣故事。英國現在是世界上第二大航空航天制造商，占據全球17%的市場，僅次于美國。但要繼續站在這個高峰困難重重。
Britain's aerospace industry has a few obvious champions: Rolls-Royce makes engines, BAE Systems makes fighter jets and AgustaWestland turns out helicopters. But much of it is hidden and unheralded. Its muscle is in unlikely places like Western Approach, an anonymous industrial estate near Bristol, where GKN crafts wing spars for Airbus. The long, slender beams that carry engines, landing gear and wing structure are made from light but tough carbon-fibre composites. GKN got the job because of its mastery of the material and its ability to produce in volume. GKN also makes parts for Airbus's arch-rival, Boeing.
英國的航空工業有幾個知名的的制造商：勞斯萊斯制造引擎，BAE系統公司制造戰斗機，阿古斯特韋斯特蘭公司生產直升機。但大多數是隱藏起來未公開的。飛機的支撐部位通常生產在看起來不太可能的地方，如布里斯托爾附近的一家不知名工業園區西進口航道（Western Approach），吉凱恩（GKN）在那兒為空中客車公司制造翼梁。這種細長梁由質輕但堅韌的碳纖維復合材料制成，負責承載引擎、起落架和機翼結構。由于對材料有著出色的掌握并擁有批量生產的制造力，吉凱恩獲得了制造權。吉凱恩同時也為空中客車公司的勁敵—波音公司制造零部件。
Rolls-Royce's engines now provide the thrust for half the world's new wide-bodied jets. Around a quarter of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner is made in Britain, including the landing gear, fuel pumps and some seats. British firms are world-beaters in avionics, the electronics that run a modern jet.
勞斯萊斯的引擎如今為世界上大約半數的新型寬體噴氣機提供推力。波音的787夢幻客機有約四分之一的部件在英國制造，包括起落架、燃油泵和部分座椅等。英國公司在航空電子設備業、制造現代噴氣式飛機的電子工業中舉世無敵。
In short, Britain specialises in the complex guts of aeroplanes. Airbus completes construction of its wings in Wales before transporting them to southern France for attaching to fuselages. Bombardier, a Canadian firm, builds the wings for its new CSeries of regional jets in Belfast. Politicians in other countries crow as completed planes roll off production lines on home turf. French participation in the Airbus consortium was contingent on jets being put together there. But the British are quietly coining it: a measly 5% of the value of an aeroplane is added with final assembly.
簡單地說，英國專注于飛機復雜的內部構造。空中客車公司在威爾士完成機翼制造，然后才將它們運到法國南部裝到機身上去。龐巴迪公司（加拿大一家飛機生產商）在貝爾法斯特為新型C系列的支線飛機制造機翼。其他國家的政客們常常自鳴得意，因為最終完整的飛機是從本國的生產線上生產出來的。法國在空中客車合作中扮演的角色僅是飛機組裝之地。但是是英國在安靜地創造它：最終的組裝僅為飛機增加了5%的價值。
Rising global demand for commercial jets means business will boom if Britain maintains its share of the market. Unfortunately, this is far from guaranteed. Companies are under-investing in research just as changes in the industry make it more vital.
如果英國保持住了自己的市場份額的話，那么全球對商用飛機日益增長的需求意味著生意將會迅速興旺起來。不幸的是，這一點遠遠得不到保證。正當行業內變化使得研發投資尤為重要時，各公司在這一塊卻投資甚少。
Aerospace is a conservative business, says Glynn Bellamy of KPMG. Projects often have lifespans of 25-30 years, and reliability is paramount. As a result the industry has globalised only slowly and Western incumbents have been insulated from the cold winds of competition. But several things are changing that.
航天是一個保守的行業，畢馬威會計事務所的格林·貝拉米說。項目通常都有25到30年的使用期限，可靠性是最重要的。這造成的結果是，這個行業的全球化進度很慢，西方的企業被競爭的寒風拒之門外。但是有些事正在改變這一狀況。
Some big commercial airline projects, such as the Airbus A330 and the original Boeing 777, are coming to an end, to be replaced by a new generation of narrow- and wide-bodied jets. That provides an opportunity for the big global manufacturers to look beyond their backyards for suppliers. Meanwhile the governments of emerging economies like China and India are eager to boost a high-tech, high-value industry.
一些大型的商業航空項目，比如空中客車A330和最開始的波音777，正準備收尾，它們將被新一代的窄、寬體噴氣式飛機所替代。這給大的國際制造商提供了一個將視線投向別處尋找供應商的機會。同時新興經濟體如中國、印度的政府也在發展高科技高價值的工業方面躍躍欲試。
Technology is advancing and becoming far more costly. Andrew Churchill, who runs JJChurchill, a family firm that makes turbine blades and other high-tech kit, says capital equipment is ten times more expensive it was a decade ago. It also becomes obsolete more quickly.
科技正在發展，也變得昂貴多了。安德魯·丘吉爾運營著一家名為JJ丘吉爾的家族企業，這家公司主要制造渦輪葉片和其他高科技裝備，他說資本設備比十年前整整貴了10倍。同時設備的更新換代也越來越快了。
The solution to all these problems is the same: plentiful research and development to keep British companies at the cutting edge. At the biggest companies, long-term investment is taken for granted. Rolls is already developing next-generation jet-engine technology. JJChurchill has ambitious plans to expand. But Mr Churchill says other small firms are failing to raise their game. If that continues, the industry will decline.
這些問題的解決方法都是一樣的：大量研究和發展來保持住英國公司的先鋒地位。在大公司，長期投資被視為是理所當然的。勞斯萊斯已經在研發下一代引擎技術了。JJ丘吉爾有擴張的雄心壯志。但是丘吉爾先生說其他的一些小公司未能改進。長此以往，這個行業將走下坡路。
Britain is home to 30% of Europe's aerospace firms, according to Martin Wright of the Northwest Aerospace Alliance, a trade organisation. Germany has only 10% but they are over twice as big on average and invest twice as heavily.
來自貿易組織——西北航空聯盟的馬丁·懷特說，英國是歐洲30%航空公司的所在地。德國僅有10%，但這些公司規模是英國的兩倍，接收的投資也是兩倍。
Britain's government has done a good job of nurturing aerospace, says Keith Hayward of the Royal Aeronautical Society. It has set aside cash for an Aerospace Technology Insitute and for large and small firms to invest in new technologies. ADS, an aerospace lobby group, would like to see R&D tax credits increased from 10% to compare more favourably with other parts of Europe, as well as accelerated tax relief on new building to help smaller firms move and grow.
英國政府在發展航空業上干得很好，來自皇家航空協會的基思·海沃德說。英國政府已經為一家航空技術機構和不同規模的公司留出了一筆資金，讓它們投資發展新技術。ADS，一個航天游說團體，希望研發稅能從10%提高到與歐洲其他地區相當的水平，同時也希望加快對新建筑的稅收減免以幫助小型公司遷移和成長。
That would help. But convincing small firms to grow is a tough task. The government can only do so much to reduce the powerful gravitational forces acting on a fragmented national industry. Like the Comet, nothing stays airborne forever.
這將會有幫助。但是說服小公司去發展是一項艱巨的任務。政府能做的只有減弱作用于這個支離破碎的民族工業的強大地心引力。如同哈維蘭彗星型客機一樣，沒有什么能一直停留在空中。譯者：王穎 校對：周雨晴
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