In the golden autumn of 2024, a grand blue sky feast was held in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province - the 15th China International Aviation and Aerospace Expo was held from November 12 to 17.

The air show has not only attracted the attention of the global aerospace field, but also a grand event for practitioners of titanium alloy materials, stealth materials and carbon fiber composite materials.

As we all know, titanium alloy materials have a reputation of "smart metal", "ocean metal", "third metal", "modern metal" and so on. The research and development of titanium alloy including superalloy, titanium alloy and metal 3D additive manufacturing technology has not only improved the performance of aerospace equipment, but also promoted the vigorous development of related industries.

At the Zhuhai Air Show, a new 60mm mortar, the PBP-201, was revealed by the official media, causing widespread concern. The biggest highlight of this mortar is the extensive use of titanium alloy material, which makes it stand out among many traditional mortars.

In terms of appearance, the PGP-201 is a metallic primary color, which is quite different from the common green painted mortars. In terms of structure, it continues the basic structure of the traditional mortar body tube, bracket and bottom plate, but with the use of titanium alloy materials, the weight of the whole gun is greatly reduced to only 8.5 kg, and the weight reduction effect is remarkable.

At this air show, it can be clearly seen that on the body of the active aircraft, the proportion of titanium alloy is rapidly increasing, and the proportion of titanium alloy remains above 30% and shows an increasing trend. The exhibition area of titanium alloy disc wire for aviation fasteners, fine crystal bars for engine blades, titanium alloy bars for aircraft structural parts and large thickness and wide width titanium alloy plates is crowded.

In addition, additive manufacturing technology has been recognized by aviation applications, and at the same time, a number of additive manufacturing companies appeared at the Zhuhai Air Show, including additive manufacturing materials, equipment and processing services companies. Powder superalloys have been widely used in turbine disks of military and civil advanced aero engines. The application of new processes such as additive manufacturing in the field of military materials continues to expand. With the increasingly mature requirements of cost control, large-scale production, product control, and technical level of the additive manufacturing industry, its expansion in military applications has also entered a stage of rapid development.

China's titanium industry started late, and developed with the rise of the aviation industry and the unremitting efforts of personnel engaged in titanium industry. China is not only widely used in the field of weapons manufacturing titanium alloy, such as type 02 14.5mm anti-aircraft machine gun, AH-4 howitzer, border troops are issued with type 19 titanium kettles.Now the emergence of the new PBP-201 mortar once again shows China's outstanding achievements and leading strength in the application of titanium alloy in the field of military equipment.