Chapter 1067 Shen Hoy’s future
Qin Tao recalled the data of this kind of fighter in his mind.
The appearance of the airframe is very similar to the Yankees' JSF, but because the engine is not powerful, it does not use a single-engine layout. Instead, it uses two turbofan-13 engines. This engine is a replica of Lao Maozi's MiG-29 engine. , although China is also developing the WS-19, but it is still far from mature, so we can only make do with the WS-13 first.
The diamond-shaped nose has air inlets on both sides of the cheek. It uses a bulge and a forward-turned cockpit. I don’t know what the designers think. The reason why the American F-35 cockpit cover is turned forward is because the lift is arranged at the back. As for the engine, although there are not many vertical take-off and landing fighter aircraft, the three armies need to be unified, so they are unified and turned forward. However, if the FC-31 wants to arrange a lift fan, it will be difficult because it uses twin engines at the back!
Two engines, outputting two transmission shafts, should they be driven together to drive a lift fan, or should each drive one? The bigger the lift fan, the better. One is the most suitable, but they can't solve the problem of parallel vehicles. Two will increase the complexity of the system.
So, this has almost become an unsolvable problem. The FC-31 does not have any potential to be transformed into a vertical takeoff and landing fighter. It is just a conventional fighter.
Limited by the size of the aircraft body, internal bomb bay volume, etc., it is smaller than the J-20. Therefore, although the Northern Research Institute wanted to sell it to the Air Force, the Air Force did not want it.
The Air Force still thinks the J-20 is good, and judging from the practice of the North, if the Air Force really places an order, it might be more expensive than the J-20, and the Air Force is not stupid.
As for now, it is even more impossible, because the Mingzhou Group has developed the mature J-35. This land-based fourth-generation stealth aircraft has received a large order from the Air Force. It is impossible for the Air Force to repeatedly purchase one. Aircraft of similar size and performance.
However, the North cannot sit back and rest in vain, so they still have to quickly develop an advanced fighter jet while they still have profits, otherwise their future will be unpredictable.
With these judgments in mind, Qin Tao came to the briefing meeting. He was very low-key and did not say hello to anyone else. He sat in a corner, then raised his head and looked at the rostrum.
There was a large-scale aircraft model on the other side of the rostrum. It looked like it was milled by a multi-axis CNC machine tool. The shape of this aircraft... was not the twin-engine JSF model he imagined, but more similar to Lao Maozi's Su -57!
Simply put, it is more like a flattened Su-27!
Qin Tao remembers clearly that he once deceived Lao Maozi and asked the Northern Institute to work with Lao Maozi to develop fourth-generation aircraft. However, after working together for a while, Lao Maozi realized that this was a trap and jumped out. Even so, Northern Research Institute The Institute still got a lot of technology, especially the design of stealth appearance, so they made changes on this basis. What they wanted to do was actually a twin-engine heavy fighter!
An aircraft of this level like the Su-27 is already expensive. If it is replaced by a stealth aircraft, the price will go even higher. If this aircraft is mainly focused on foreign trade, can it be sold?
What's wrong with getting rich 31? Maybe it will become Fake 31.
Intuitively, Qin Tao is not optimistic about this project.
A designer walked up to the front desk carrying a notebook, plugged it into the slide projector, and projected it. She smoothed the hair that fell in front of her forehead and began to introduce it.
“Leaders, welcome to this FC31 report meeting. I am Lin Xia, an engineer from the Northern Research Institute. Next, I will introduce to you the design plan of our aircraft.”
It’s actually a woman!
Qin Tao has met many female engineers, including his wife Zhao Ling, who was once an engineer. However, it is rare for a female engineer to stand out in the Northern Institute.
What is the background of this female engineer?
Qin Tao looked at the stage curiously.
"Our FC31 fighter is a twin-engine heavy-duty fourth-generation stealth fighter. It will also become the third fourth-generation heavy-duty fighter in the world. Now, let me introduce the design of this aircraft." Lin Xia said : "You have also seen that its appearance is somewhat similar to the Su-27. It uses an overall lifting body layout and a wide fuselage. However, there are also many modifications. For example, its wings were changed to butterfly ones that are more suitable for stealth. type wing, and the vertical tail has also been cambered. Now, let’s introduce the aerodynamic characteristics in detail. First, from the front, its side strips are movable.”
J-20 has many innovations in aerodynamic layout, and the current FC31 is no exception. It also has many innovations, and movable side bars are one of them!
This is of course one of the design proposals originally proposed by Lao Maozi. A movable edge strip is added to the extended part of the leading edge of the wing to control the vortex lift. It is much stronger than the fixed side strips of the Su-27, which can move the thrust center forward and increase the instability of the aircraft's aerodynamic performance, thus enhancing its maneuverability.
"Looking back, we see that a special weapon bay is designed at the wing root of the main wing at the back, which can carry a short-range air-to-air missile. In this way, two short-range air-to-air missiles can be mounted on the left and right sides." Lin Xia Continued introduction: "Of course, we also have a dedicated main weapons bay, which is in the middle of the two engines."
This aircraft is like a flattened Su-27. In fact, it is a modification of the Su-27. The fuselage design is still the same as that of the Su-27. Under the fuselage of the entire lifting body, two engine nacelles are arranged. There is a lot of space in the middle of the nacelle.
These spaces used to be used to store fuel, but now, this space has been transformed into a weapons bay.
Other aircraft do not have this condition. After all, the engine is at the tail, and there need to be air intakes on both sides of the fuselage. Weapons can only be placed in the center of the air intakes on both sides of the nose. This bomb bay is limited, especially the length. not enough.
But the aircraft in front of us can be easily transformed into a large weapons bay!
"Currently, our design plan is to have a bomb bay at the front and rear, into which two medium-range air-to-air missiles can be inserted. If the customer likes large bomb bays, we can also open up the front and rear bomb bays. At this time, the overall body The strength may be limited, but long-range attack missiles can be stuffed inside, such as the Navy's YJ-21 anti-ship missile, the Air Force's Changjian-10, etc."
The leaders present all opened their eyes.
The navy and air force have begun to receive stealth aircraft. Of course, they are also aware of the shortcomings of stealth aircraft. Since they cannot be externally mounted, they can only use built-in bomb bays. Many large weapons cannot be mounted. Now, after the improvement of the aircraft in front of them, they can All the space from the nose landing gear to the rear tailbone is freed up to mount large anti-ship missiles and cruise missiles!
This is an innovation!
Looking at the eyes of the leaders, Lin Xia finally gained confidence. She knew that if Beifang wanted to regain its position as the boss, it must come up with a unique product to satisfy the leaders.
So far, there are only a few stealth machines in the world, and they are almost all similar.
The rhombus-shaped nose, the air inlet close to the cheek, the bomb bay in the middle, and the engine at the back. This layout can never accommodate a large bomb bay, and it cannot carry large weapons, making the stealth aircraft useless.
Even the J-20 has a different wing design from the F22, but the fuselage is still similar.
Only our FC-31 has taken a new and unique path!
"Look at the back, we currently plan to use two turbofan-10 engines. After a long period of testing, our turbofan-10 engines have become fully mature. There are currently additional modifications to be launched, and the thrust will exceed 14 tons. By using this engine, we can give the fighter aircraft a stronger thrust-to-weight ratio, and at the same time, we also plan to install vector nozzles on it to give the fighter aircraft super maneuverability."
From front to back, the features have been introduced, and Lin Xia continues to introduce the details.
“In terms of avionics, we will use the most advanced avionics equipment in the country, install a domestic active phased array radar on the nose, and there will also be an advanced photoelectric probe under the nose, and the cockpit will also use a large-screen display and The large-screen head-up display strives to create the most comfortable cockpit so that pilots can better perform their missions."
“According to our plan, there will be three types of this heavy fighter, namely the land-based combat type, the land-based bombing type and the ship-based type. Each of the three types has its own characteristics and can fully meet the future needs of the navy and air force.”
Although they failed in the bidding, they still have confidence and hope to gain recognition from the navy and air force and continue to place orders with them, especially the navy! The navy's carrier-based aircraft used to be their market.
“Now that my report is complete, I would like to ask all leaders and colleagues to correct me.” Lin Xia stood there with a smile, looking at the faces below, and then saw Qin Tao in the corner. "Mr. Qin is here too? Can you give us some valuable advice on this aircraft?" Lin Xia asked.
Qin Tao was a little embarrassed: "I'm just a shipbuilder. I came here today to join in the fun. If you say anything, I won't speak."
"Mr. Qin, you are not only a shipbuilder. Mingzhou Group has strong aviation industry research and development capabilities and has also created many export miracles. We also hope that we can use your Dongfeng to open up the road to export in the future." Lin Xia said: "Mr. Qin, your group doesn't have heavy-duty machines yet, so we shouldn't be in a competitive relationship, right?"
Seeing that Qin Tao still didn't want to say anything, Lin Xia continued: "Mr. Qin, you should also know that the birth of our aircraft has a lot to do with you. Now, you regard our aircraft as your child. Same, please give me some advice. Especially the criticism, we will definitely accept it with an open mind."
“Okay.” Qin Tao stood up.
"First of all, I was shocked today. I didn't expect that the Northern Institute could come up with such a project. This shows that our Northern Institute is constantly reflecting and making progress, and finally got rid of the big brother thinking of the past and devoted itself to market competition. !”
Qin Tao was not being sarcastic, he was really feeling emotional. In the past, the Northern Research Institute was aloof and thought that all good things were theirs. Then, the research and development of the third-generation aircraft was robbed by Mr. Song. They did not learn their lesson, so they fooled around and planned to bid. Fourth-generation aircraft, and then the research and development of the fourth-generation aircraft was robbed by Mr. Song.
Now, they are finally getting down to business and planning to start serious research and development. The project in front of them is much more reliable than the three-wing heavy-duty aircraft that was used in the original fourth-generation aircraft bidding. After all, there are still successful examples.
“Thank you, Mr. Qin, for the compliment.” Lin Xia said.
They have always been criticized by President Qin, and it is Chengdu Institute that is always praised. Now, they can also hear words of praise from Qin Tao. It is really not easy.
"The Northern Research Institute is the big brother in the research and development of our military aircraft. This heavy-duty aircraft project proposed this time also has market prospects. For example, big companies may need heavy-duty fighter jets. After the F22 appears there, They may have this demand, and our J-20 cannot be exported, so there should be a market for your aircraft solution."
“Thank you, Mr. Qin.”
Although the domestic market is not mentioned, exporting is also possible, as long as it can make money, not to mention it is a big business.
"However, if you want to develop this aircraft, you still have many difficulties." Qin Tao said: "The first point is the flight control. You must thoroughly understand the aerodynamic parameters of this aircraft and develop advanced The flight control system must be tested repeatedly on the iron bird platform. If there are no problems before the first flight, if the aircraft crashes due to flight control problems, it will cause huge resistance to the development of this aircraft, and may even lead to the failure of the project. "
Flight control is the key, and it is also the flaw of the Northern Institute. Now Qin Tao must point it out. If you want to do it, you must mature this kind of project in a down-to-earth manner. You must not take it lightly!
“Yes, we will.”
"Second, it's stealth. This stealth shape is unique to you. I don't know whether it can reach the first-class level. Customers attach great importance to stealth performance. Don't make it neither too high nor too low. If you want to do it, you must do it to the best of your ability. good."
Su 57 is a typical example in this regard. Although it is said to be a stealth aircraft, in fact, the stealth level of other stealth aircraft is an order of magnitude lower than that of other stealth aircraft.
“Especially the inlet of this engine. It is difficult to solve this problem on an aircraft with this layout. I hope you will use your ingenuity to solve this problem.”
The engines of the Su-27 series aircraft are equivalent to sticking a nacelle under the belly of the aircraft. The air inlet is very short, which is very beneficial to the work of the engine. However, at the same time, it is difficult for this air inlet to play a stealth role, because it is difficult to hide from the air intake. The fan blades of the engine can be seen at the air inlet, which is a powerful source of electromagnetic wave reflection.
Why do all stealth aircraft around the world look the same? It is because this layout allows the intake duct to have an arc inward, which just blocks the engine fan blades! When the Su 57 was designed, it did not have this advantage, so the designers added a special grille in the air intake. This coaxial radial grille made of radar absorbing material can play a partial blocking role, but the effect is definitely not comparable to the S-shaped air inlet of a stealth aircraft.
If this problem is not solved, this kind of aircraft will always be a lower level aircraft than the F22 and J-20, and will not be able to reach the same level.
Now, when Qin Tao talked about this problem, the designers at the Northern Institute frowned. Yes, this problem is also a big problem they face, and they have not found a solution yet!
“Mr. Qin, can you think of a solution for us?” Lin Xia asked.
Qin Tao shook his head: "I didn't. Although I once proposed this project, I only proposed it briefly. This kind of technical problem is not something that a layman like me can solve."
Lin Xia's eyes showed a look of disappointment. She thought for a while and continued: "Mr. Qin, please continue to give us guidance."
"The next step is to use a large amount of composite materials to control the weight of the aircraft. You just introduced that this aircraft uses a modified version of two turbofans, with a thrust of more than 14 tons, so two units are 28 tons. However, if the control is not good, If this is the case, the aircraft's dead weight may reach 25 tons, and if it is loaded with several tons of fuel and ammunition, it will have no advantage in air combat."
This is the case with Lao Maozi's Su-57, with an empty weight of 25 tons. However, Lao Maozi has the 117S engine improved by his fourth uncle. A single engine has a thrust of 15 tons, and two engines can provide a thrust of 30 tons. It can still maintain a thrust-to-weight ratio of more than 1 in air combat. level.
What about our own side?
Our own engine is still a weak point. The North did not choose the Turbofan 15 because the Turbofan 10 was also made by the aircraft engine factory in Shenyang. They had to use the products of their own supporting factories, and this engine was also used in J-15 and J-16.
This kind of engine has insufficient thrust. If the weight of the aircraft body is too large, the advantages of the heavy-duty aircraft will be lost!
After saying this, Qin Tao thought for a few seconds, and then said: "Let's just put forward these requirements for the time being. Just use them as suggestions. If you think what I said is right, then do it. If you think what I said is wrong, then do it." Do it your own way.”
"Mr. Qin, what you said makes sense, and we will listen to your suggestions carefully." Lin Xia said, "Thank you for your suggestions. Next, we will listen to the opinions of the troops. Leader Wu, what do you think? "
"Me? Taozi's opinion is my opinion." Wu Shengli said confidently
Qin Tao was speechless for a while. Dad, could you please give me some advice?
“What do you think of our carrier-based aircraft converted from fighter jets?”
“I can’t feel it now. We have to wait until it is built and tested on our aircraft carrier to know. If the performance is better than the same domestic model, our navy will consider it.”
Wu Shengli will not express his opinion directly. He will wait until you build it. But, can it be built in less than three to five years, or even ten or eight years? By then, the Navy must have purchased hundreds of J-20s. Will it look at such aircraft again?
Lin Xia's eyes flashed with disappointment, and then she looked at the Air Force again and began to ask the Air Force leaders.
The leaders of the Air Force praised and praised them for a long time. As for the core idea, that is, the aircraft is good. Do you work hard to purchase it? We will discuss the procurement later. We have to see the aircraft before we can decide. In short, it is impossible for us to pay for it. This is a self-funded research and development project.
(End of this chapter)