Chapter 1061 God of Thunder and Lightning
Far away Europe, Great Britain.
"Everyone, we must be fully mentally prepared." Benjamin looked at everyone in the conference room: "The Americans are making slow progress in the research and development project of the F-32 fighter jet. We may not get advanced fighter jets in a short time. Carrier-based aircraft, even if our aircraft carrier is built, we may not have carrier-based aircraft available for a long time."
The expressions of everyone present changed.
An aircraft carrier has been built, but there are no carrier-based aircraft available. Wouldn't it be a joke if word spread?
“Aren’t Americans making rapid progress?”
"Yes, at the beginning, their progress was indeed very fast, but the further they progressed, the slower the progress became. Recently, their carrier-based aircraft have been put on board, and many serious problems have appeared. According to internal sources, many problems may be There is no solution, even the U.S. Navy may give up this kind of carrier-based aircraft.”
“The U.S. Navy is going to give up the F-32? Then what will they use to fight against the increasingly large naval carrier-based aircraft force in the East? Just rely on their Super Hornet?” Everyone was shocked.
“I don’t know, they may restart the research and development of the X-35. After all, the plan for this aircraft is similar to that of Dongfang. Dongfang has already matured it and it is a successful route.”
“Re-development of the X-35? How long will it take? Can they afford to wait?”
"There are also claims that they will improve the F22 and put this advanced fourth-generation heavy fighter on the ship, but in any case, these aircraft are not something we can obtain quickly. For a long time, our aircraft carrier will have no fighter jets. can use."
If the original X-35 is picked up and re-developed, it will definitely take a long time. As for the F22, this fighter is too advanced and cannot be exported. Even the United Kingdom, as a loyal ally of the United States, does not have this qualification.
So, they won’t have carrier-based aircraft for a long time, what should they do?
"Today's meeting is to discuss this issue. Since vertical take-off and landing fighter jets have not been available for a long time, we should allow the Queen-class aircraft carrier to have combat effectiveness after it is completed. We can't carry helicopters and our Sea Harriers, right? "
The Sea Harrier is too backward and must be eliminated, and helicopters cannot compete with fighter jets. They have been waiting for American carrier-based aircraft. Unexpectedly, the Americans' progress has seriously lagged behind!
what to do?
“Can we modify our aircraft carrier to use catapult take-off and arrested landing?” A man stood up and said: “In this way, our Typhoon fighter jets can be boarded!”
Among the canard layout fighters, it seems that only the Rafale fighter jets are on board the ship. In fact, both Typhoon and Gripen have plans to board the ship, but there is no chance.
Now, the British aircraft carrier has a problem that carrier-based aircraft cannot be deployed. The company responsible for developing Typhoon fighter jets was immediately tempted and quickly put our Typhoon fighter jets on board!
“If you use Typhoon fighter jets, you need a catapult. We don’t have the relevant technology.” Sir Michael Boyce was in a bad mood.
“Imported from the United States!”
“At present, the only mature steam catapults in the United States are steam catapults. If this kind of catapult is used, it means that we need to burn boilers on our aircraft carriers, but we planned to use gas turbines when designing!”
“Then use an electromagnetic catapult.”
"This kind of catapult has not been matured by the Americans. It broke down frequently during ground tests, and we are unable to purchase it at the moment. Even if it is purchased, it is sky-high price. Moreover, our power unit has limited power generation capacity and may not be able to be used by the aircraft carrier. .”
Everyone fell silent.
Steam catapults are mature, but they don’t have boilers. Electromagnetic catapults are tall and have not yet been matured. There are also problems with power supply. What method should they use for their Queen-class aircraft carrier?
The displacement is large enough, 60,000 tons. The British are also familiar with operations such as changing the angle of the deck, but they are stuck on the catapult!
“What if, like the aircraft carriers in the East, we change the bow to a jump deck and the port side to an angled deck, so that we can use a ski jump to take off and block the landing?”
Many people’s eyes lit up.
The Queen-class aircraft carrier originally had a jump deck, but there was a problem with the design. The jump deck was very narrow and faced directly to the stern of the ship. In this way, takeoff and landing could not be carried out at the same time. As long as it was significantly modified, it would look like Dongfeng's 001 aircraft carrier. Two take-off points can even be arranged on the bow of the ship, which will not affect the operation of the angled deck. If it is equipped with Typhoon fighter jets, it will be OK!
But... isn't this just like the East? Can they always learn from the East? Will people gossip about it if it spreads?
Everyone was deep in thought.
“Everyone, I just received the latest news that the Easterners have deployed drones on the aircraft carrier!”
“What’s so strange about drones.”
“It’s not an ordinary drone, they have a large drone on the aircraft carrier, almost like a B2!”
Everyone was shocked.
The Eastern aircraft carriers came from scratch and grew up, which shocked everyone. When the 002 aircraft carrier was put into service, although they said they were unwilling to give up, they knew in their hearts that in this field, they had been surpassed by the Eastern people. .
Electromagnetic ejection, electromagnetic interception, and carrier-based stealth aircraft are really amazing! Now, they got another shocking news: Dongfang's aircraft carrier actually has unmanned bombers!
“A drone similar to the B2? This is impossible. How can hundreds of tons of fighters be taken off and landed on the deck of an aircraft carrier?”
“It’s not the weight, it’s the appearance. The appearance is very similar to B2, and the size is about more than 20 tons. The satellite in the United States has taken the picture and it will be transmitted soon.”
Soon, everyone got the photo and watched the drone take off from the aircraft carrier with extremely heavy hearts.
Orientals have created a new miracle in a new field!
Benjamin looked at the photo with a very serious expression, but when his eyes moved a few times, he suddenly thought of something.
If Easterners can do it, we British can definitely do it too! Didn’t the Orientals just get a drone to fly on an aircraft carrier? Of course we can also put our own drones on the aircraft carrier, and this also solves the urgent problem: the aircraft carrier has no aircraft!
Since there is no suitable carrier-based aircraft, we might as well put the drones on the aircraft carrier first and use them for a while. When the United States develops the carrier-based aircraft, it will not be too late for our own side to equip them!
Thinking of this, Benjamin was very excited and asked: "Are there any domestic aviation companies that can complete the research and development of this kind of drone? We want to deploy this kind of drone on our own aircraft carrier!"
How can the majestic Great Britain still not be able to handle such a small thing?
Benjamin didn’t find anything difficult, but who would have thought that after he finished speaking, there was a collective silence.
“Why, you don’t agree with my proposal?” Benjamin was very puzzled. He looked at the people around him: “Boyce, what do you think?”
"UAVs are different from model airplanes. In addition to their ability to fly, more importantly, they have the ability to be autonomous. For example, in addition to flying according to a predetermined route, they can also randomly handle various accidents. Said, although there are no people on it, it looks like there are people on it. So far, we have no relevant technical reserves in China."
There really is no such technology!
Benjamin was shocked: "Then what are our people doing? There are already unmanned bombers in the East, but we are still only at the level of model aircraft?"
"The flight control of drones requires advanced computer technology. We are at a disadvantage in this aspect. Dongfang was able to mature this drone first because it was based on their advanced electronics industry," Boyce said. : "Even the United States cannot compare with it. As early as a few years ago, we noticed that the East had begun to develop integrated reconnaissance and combat drones. At that time, the American Global Hawk could only perform reconnaissance missions. It has only begun now. Carrying missiles.”
“Can the American Global Hawk do it? Then can we directly purchase the Global Hawk?”
Only Easterners can do it, no one else has this strength, not even the British!
“Are we really unable to do anything?” Benjamin was angry.
“That’s not true. If we develop a lightweight drone that uses propellers as power, it can still take off and land from an aircraft carrier.”
Lightweight, propeller aircraft, this kind of thing can be used as a reconnaissance aircraft at best, or even a second-line transport aircraft. It cannot be used as a war machine for a modern aircraft carrier at all!
Benjamin clenched his fists: "We are one of the most powerful industrial countries in the world. We can't go on like this. We must develop our own unmanned bombers, and their performance must reach the level of the Easterners!" Benjamin became furious. : "I decided to name this aircraft the God of Thunder. It has a high-tech stealth appearance, an advanced unmanned system, and powerful attack power. It is the best aircraft of our Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. Fighter!"
“However, I’m afraid this will cost a lot of money.”
Now the navy cannot even afford to build two aircraft carriers. The country has been diverting funds to support the construction of aircraft carriers by demolishing the east wall to make up for the west wall. Are they going to develop more aircraft? Where did the funds come from?
“We must invest, otherwise we will fall further and further behind! Even if we invest 100 million euros, we must develop this aircraft!”
100 million euros, just want to develop an advanced drone? We don’t have the low-cost advantage of the Orientals. I’m afraid we won’t be able to stop it even with a billion euros!
But looking at Benjamin's look, everyone knew that they couldn't persuade Benjamin now. Moreover, this was indeed embarrassing enough. If the country could make up its mind and invest in military research and development, that would also be a good thing.
“Actually, we shouldn’t give up on the research and development of fourth-generation aircraft.” A voice sounded.
Although there are many economically powerful countries in Europe, their R&D costs are also quite high. Moreover, the more advanced the equipment, the higher the investment required for R&D. A single country simply cannot support the project, and the same is true for the French.
When studying the Tornado fighter, the Europeans began to join forces and tasted the benefits. Therefore, when it came to the Typhoon fighter, they joined forces again. Even the French joined in at first, but later because they could not obtain Dominance, and simply gave up.
Now, Typhoon fighter jets have begun to be equipped with various countries, and they are also actively promoting them to the outside world. However, they are also afraid of the high research and development costs of modern fighter jets, and they are arguing with each other, and they can never get together. In addition, the Americans As soon as they were fooled, everyone went to work on JSF fighters together.
However, the Americans only allowed them to provide funding and did not allow them to participate in research and development. Therefore, their aviation research and development industry was completely abandoned.
Now, take advantage of this opportunity to simply start research and development again. We are not going to play with fourth-generation machines anymore, so we can bypass fourth-generation machines and directly develop fifth-generation machines!
This road can be taken!
This road must be taken!
There was a chorus of support below.
Michael Boyce wanted to say a few words, but seeing the attitude of the big guy, he didn’t say anything.
Even if we develop fifth-generation aircraft and this sci-fi-looking God of Thunder, what’s the use? Our aircraft carriers still can’t be used!
Taking off can be solved, and the ski-jump to the deck is fine anyway. If you get a twenty-ton stealth bomber up there, it should be able to fly, but what about landing? Landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier will definitely require a blocking cable!
If blocking cables are used, it means that the aircraft carrier will have to be significantly modified and have an angled deck. In this case, it is back to the point: they only need to modify the Typhoon fighter jets and put them on the ship, which can also meet the needs, and the Dongfang 16 Just like the No. 1 aircraft carrier, they ski-jumped off and blocked the landing, so they didn't have to worry about carrier-based aircraft at all.
If it were changed like that, it would be the same as the Eastern aircraft carrier. If word spreads, it will definitely be laughed at by the outside world, but a joke is a joke, at least it can be used.
Now let’s not talk about aircraft carrier transformation, but talk about carrier-based aircraft and advanced fifth-generation aircraft. We have gone around and around and are back to the starting point again. What is the purpose of this meeting?
Boyce shook his head helplessly. The whole meeting was boring.
But others were still planning excitedly, and some even started operating the computer and actually started drawing out designs on the spot!
A few hours later.
A group of reporters came to the room where the press conference was held lively. The camera was focused on the rostrum in front of them. Since there was no one on it, they could only talk among themselves.
“Have you heard what news will be released this time?”
“It is said to be related to the navy.”
“Is it because our aircraft carrier is about to be completed?”
“It’s still early to finish!”
“What could it be?”
"It seems to be a carrier-based aircraft. Even if our aircraft carrier is completed, there are still many problems with the carrier-based aircraft. The United States has delayed its progress and our aircraft carrier does not have suitable carrier-based aircraft."
“How could this be? Can’t we develop carrier-based aircraft ourselves? Our aviation industry is very powerful!”
While everyone was talking, a few people suddenly walked out from the front, and they immediately shut up. When they saw the person who was surrounded in the middle clearly, they became even more excited.
Your Excellency Benjamin!
"Everyone, I've kept you waiting!" Benjamin said with a smile on his face: "We are holding a press conference this time to show the world our strength in the aviation industry! We have decided to develop a new stealth drone. Human attack aircraft, as the carrier-based aircraft of our aircraft carrier!"
As expected, it is a carrier-based aircraft. As expected, we still have to develop it ourselves! Everyone got excited.
"The first is stealth. In order to achieve the best stealth aircraft, this carrier-based aircraft will adopt a brand-new appearance. It is very sci-fi, as if it is alien technology. This is the wisdom of our domestic scientific researchers. crystallization!"
"The second is intelligence. As air defense threats become more and more severe, only drones can penetrate the enemy's air defense firepower network and attack enemy ground targets. Without people on board, such aircraft can avoid pilot damage. However, the control system of the UAV poses a huge challenge. Without an advanced control system, these functions cannot be achieved at all, and it even needs to autonomously avoid enemy anti-aircraft firepower!"
“The third one is carrier-based. We know that it is not easy to develop aircraft, and it is even more difficult to develop carrier-based aircraft. However, we rely on our strong scientific and technological strength to make all this impossible possible!”
“Okay, having said all that, let’s take a look at the design drawings of this aircraft. We call it the God of Thunder!”
On the projection screen on the side, a computer-drawn CG picture of the drone was displayed. Sure enough, the appearance was very sci-fi, and it looked like a B2 overall. It was simpler than the B2. There was a big mouth on the nose and a nozzle on the tail. The whole plane looks so beautiful!
Soon, the news spread all over the world. The UK is about to develop the world's first stealth unmanned attack aircraft!
The UK is indeed a long-established industrial power, and will be in an advanced position in this regard!
Although the UK has not developed fourth-generation aircraft, they will directly transition to the era of fifth-generation aircraft!
The news was overwhelming, and accompanied by that illustration, it attracted the attention of the whole world.
When they got the newspaper that published the news, Wu Shengli and Qin Tao had already arrived at Qiongzhou, the third shipyard of Mingzhou Group. Wu Shengli was also shocked when looking at the things in the photos.
“Isn’t this a copycat? They are so shameless, how can they copy our aircraft?”
"It seems that our aircraft has been exposed. However, the most they can do is copy the appearance. They do not have the ability to copy the entire aircraft." Qin Tao said: "They do not have any technical reserves. This is another PPT project."
“Should we make our attack-11 public?”
"No, just let Zhang Zhong go out. The British also want to build advanced stealth unmanned attack aircraft, which is pure nonsense. Let Zhang Zhong give them some guidance."
(End of this chapter)