Chapter 382 Announcement of International Cooperation Projects
"This is simply an airplane designed by God!" I don't know how long it took, but Luo Lisi was still full of emotion when talking about this scene: "We were all shocked at the time. The ancient East could actually design such an aerodynamic shape. Perfectly blends flight performance and stealth performance!”
“So, is it possible that they plagiarized the design of our F-22 fighter jet?”
“I don’t know. I heard that after this model was announced, Lockheed conducted a comprehensive investigation. However, the results of the investigation showed that the designers who developed the F-22 did not sell their souls.”
“So, did you get the technology from Lao Maozi? How could a country that could only improve the MiG-21 suddenly leapfrog the third-generation aircraft and develop a fourth-generation aircraft?”
"I don't know, but judging from the existing information, it shouldn't be, because Lao Maozi has never thought about using appearance to become invisible. They have always been on the path of plasma invisibility. It's a pity. If the Red Empire If it doesn’t collapse, it’s really possible that they could cause it to break out.”
These are all things Luo Lisi will say in interviews later. As for now, Luo Lisi's big eyes are just staring at the model.
Beautiful, so beautiful!
That model is only more than thirty centimeters in length. It looks like a model aircraft, but its appearance is different from any other aircraft in this era!
It is completely black. I don’t know if it was inspired by the F-117. It is painted black. Regardless of the color, let’s look at the appearance first. It is so conspicuous on the red tablecloth.
The diamond-shaped nose has protruding lines on both sides, and the rear part is just combined with the upper end of the air inlet. It is very coordinated. The air inlet is a parallelogram. There is no boundary layer at the edge of the air inlet. Board, I just saw something like a bulge.
Extending rearward is the wing, a butterfly-shaped wing, which is very close to the tail.
The tail is even more special. Its two vertical tails are inclined outwards. This should take into account the requirements for side stealth.
When they saw the shape of this aircraft, which was completely different from any other aircraft of this era, everyone was amazed by its appearance.
“Excuse me, what are the bulges on both sides of the air intake?”
"This is our innovative technology. The professional name is called boundary layer-free supersonic inlet. It uses a fixed drum to simulate the first and second-level adjustable inclined plates in the conventional inlet, and can achieve the same goal. Compression of airflow, as well as the purpose of simplifying the structure and making it invisible." When Zhao Dangsheng introduced it, he was still a little uneasy.
After all, we have not mastered this technology yet! But Mr. Qin said that it must be announced here, so that the right to invention belongs to him!
In the field of military aircraft development, there is no such thing as patent rights. As long as the technology is available, it can be used. It is announced now just for the sake of fame.
Who said China’s military aircraft research and development capabilities are weak? We can lead this era!
“What does it have to do with invisibility?” someone asked below.
"What's more important is that this bulge protrudes and blocks the engine blades behind it, which is the strongest source of electromagnetic reflection. At the same time, when the inlet is pre-compressed, the boundary layer between the air and the inlet wall will be outside the inlet. As a result, the electromagnetic waves emitted by the radar, as oscillating particle waves, cannot easily enter the fighter inlet."
These words may be true or false. The first part is true, but the second part has not been discovered by Zhao Dangsheng for the time being. However, when it is announced to the public, it is still necessary to tell the truth, the truth and the lies, the truth and the truth. If it misleads colleagues, it is also a matter of face.
Qin Tao was in the corner, listening to the speeches here and feeling very accomplished.
He did not expect that his superiors would agree to his plan so quickly.
At present, there are two key projects in the aviation industry. The introduction of the Su-27 production line and the production of J-11 fighters are currently the most expensive projects and the fastest to achieve results.
The self-developed J-10 aircraft has already begun test flights. This aircraft is independently developed by our own side and its specific performance will not be known to outsiders. It is considered a killer weapon.
These two projects have already consumed a lot of money, and even Feibao has to use the meager funds of the Navy to maintain it. Therefore, at this time, the superiors simply cannot come up with money to support the J-31 project, and , this project is not a planned project in the aviation industry system at all.
Since the superiors do not support it, then of course there is no problem in turning it into an international commercial project. After all, if the superiors do not allocate funds, the project will have to go through other channels. Otherwise, the project will definitely be terminated in the end. .
This is the mentality of superiors. If you do it yourself, if it is done, it will promote the progress of our country's aviation industry. After all, the stealth capability is very advanced. If we can't do it, we will have nothing to lose.
Just like that, the superior approved it.
It happened to catch up with this opportunity, and simply announced it directly. Qin Tao came here to do these things. Anyway, he was promoted by him. He was blame.
At this time, Zhao Dangsheng was still answering the following questions.
“Excuse me, since you call this project J-31A, does that mean it is also a vertical take-off and landing fighter?”
If the answer is yes, then even Americans can’t do it.
In the past few years, the technology of vertical take-off and landing fighter jets has been very popular, and many companies are working on it, but in the end, only two models have matured.
Even the U.S. Marine Corps purchases British Sea Harriers.
"Yes, our aircraft is a vertical take-off and landing fighter. It is modified based on the previous aircraft." Zhao Dangsheng said: "Next, we will give you a brief introduction to the technology used by this fighter. "
As he spoke, Zhao Dangsheng took out a design drawing board from behind the table. When he put the drawing board on it, there was another sound of a camera.
"We know that there are only two vertical take-off and landing fighter solutions in the world, one is the Sea Harrier and the other is the Yak. But both have shortcomings. For example, the biggest shortcoming of the Yak is the burning airflow ejected by the lift engine. The deck, our current plan, has completely improved this shortcoming.”
“How to improve?”
"As you can see from the design drawings, we use a take-off cruise engine at the back and a lift engine structure at the front. However, our lift engine is not an ordinary jet engine. It is just a lift fan. Through this shaft, it is located at the back. It is driven by an engine, so that it blows cold air and will not burn the deck."
Zhao Dangsheng introduced him.
Now that it is announced, there is no need to worry about leaks. It is just a big fan. How is this fan made and what is its specific structure? Don’t worry if you don’t publish these.
Furthermore, if it is announced like this, some people will have a headache.
Although the famous F-35 will not enter the public eye until the 21st century, related pre-research work has already begun.
Just last year, the U.S. Department of Defense launched research on the "Joint Advanced Attack Technology" JASF demonstrator, and established the JASF Research Program Office in January this year. The goal of this plan is to develop a light combat attack aircraft that is common to several services. series, replacing the US Air Force's F-15E, F-16, F-15C and F-117, the Navy's F-14, the Marine Corps' AV-8B, and several obsolete models.
It is said that the United Kingdom has also expressed a strong interest in this plan and proposed to join this plan to replace the Harrier fighter jets and its developed Sea Harrier series with this aircraft. In order to integrate resources and highlight priorities, the Americans are considering incorporating the ongoing U.S. Navy's "Joint Strike Fighter" JAF program and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's "Common Low-Cost Light Fighter" CALF program into the JASF program. This is the most famous program in history. The "Joint Strike Fighter" plan has gradually emerged.
Each major company has also begun preparations and has preliminary plans. If Lockheed hears its own plan, it will definitely be sick to the point of vomiting.
Who invented this solution? China! The American plan is also copied from China!
Thinking about that scene, it is spectacular enough. Moreover, maybe in order to avoid suspicion, Lockheed will start a new project, or the X-32 plan will win and eventually become the F-32.
“In this way, the space between the front and rear is exactly the space for our weapon bay. In order to pursue stealth performance, we will also adopt the method of built-in weapon bay.”
After hearing these introductions, everyone was even more excited, and some raised new questions.
“Do you have the confidence to develop it? It’s just a model now. If you want to really develop it, it will cost a lot of money!”
These reporters are being subtle, and they didn’t directly say that you are just plagiarists, aren’t they? When can I be original?
"Yes, it will cost a lot of money to develop this fourth-generation aircraft. What we are doing now is the appearance. Its engine, avionics, flight control, etc. are all difficulties we need to overcome. We It is expected to cost at least $5 billion."
five billion!
The F-16, this world-famous fighter jet, cost only US$870 million to develop. But that was the price in the 1970s. After that, the development of aircraft has become increasingly expensive. When it comes to the F-22, the research and development cost is more than 20 billion, which is spread to more than 100 million per aircraft. When it comes to the F-35, it has risen to more than 40 billion. (There are different opinions. Some say 70 billion, while others say 200 billion.)
“Of course, this is only a preliminary estimate. After all, world-wide inflation is continuing, so in the later stages, R&D expenditures may continue to rise, but 10 billion is definitely no problem.”
This time, we get to the point again!
Zhao Dangsheng admired Qin Tao's arrangements so much that he didn't even need to say it himself. The reporters asked all the questions.
"So, our aircraft will adopt a new research and development model." Zhao Dangsheng said: "This aircraft will become an international joint aircraft. Anyone who has the idea to obtain a fourth-generation aircraft can join our plan. , we welcome partners who have ideas but do not have the technology to join our project by investing, and through this project, they will also receive a lot of benefits.”
"global cooperation?"
This is definitely the first time!
Has anyone ever heard that a country needs to seek cooperation from other countries to develop weapons? Generally speaking, weapons are developed and sold, and then the arms profits are earned. During the research and development stage, they are all done by themselves.
However, there is also international cooperation. Europe's Tornado fighter jets and Typhoon fighter jets are the product of international cooperation. However, these are joint developments by several countries with strong technological capabilities. They are just investments. I have never seen them before.
Will anyone join?
etc! There seems to be a problem here!
"As far as I know, although there is demand for vertical take-off and landing fighter jets internationally, it is not large. It is understandable that you want to obtain a large amount of funds through international cooperation, but how do you want to To determine whether potential customers will want this vertical take-off and landing fighter?"
In the end, most countries still need conventional fighter jets. They don’t have that many islands to defend, and they don’t have aircraft carriers. Therefore, if this aircraft is an ordinary vertical take-off and landing fighter, its sales scope will be very narrow.
"The question raised by this reporter is a good one." Zhao Dangsheng nodded: "If it is just a vertical take-off and landing fighter, then the user area of our aircraft must be very narrow. However, everyone can continue to look at our aircraft design drawings, as long as we Remove the lift engine at the front and replace it with an auxiliary fuel tank, equipment bay or weapons bay, and it can transform into an ordinary stealth fighter. At the same time, due to the removal of these mechanisms, the performance of the aircraft will be further improved. We estimate that , this conventional version will be in demand for thousands of aircraft around the world!"
In front of everyone, Zhao Dangsheng reached out to the design board, and then easily tore off the lift fan, rotating shaft and other parts on it!
This part was actually pasted on?
After tearing it off, he replaced it with an ordinary fuel tank sticker and stuck it on it. It was slightly crooked, but everyone could understand it at a glance.
Whether it is a Sea Harrier or a Yak-38, due to structural limitations, it cannot be converted into a conventional fighter. However, the design in front of you is different. The engine is arranged at the rear. If the front structure is removed, it will be normal. The layout of the fighter jet.
“How long do you expect the development of this aircraft to take?”
"The fourth-generation aircraft is also a major challenge for us. We estimate that even if we have sufficient funds, it will take ten years of hard work to successfully develop it. Therefore, we hope that customers who are interested in purchasing our aircraft will You must be mentally prepared. Now that you have made a decision, you must go on firmly. Well, our press conference ends here today. Later, we will open the plane and everyone can line up to take photos with the plane. Take a souvenir and then you can leave.”
Everything that needs to be said has been said, and Zhao Dangsheng is not as nervous as he was at first. After leaving these words, he left calmly.
Where is Mr. Qin? Where has Mr. Qin gone?
Qin Tao did nothing else. He was hungry, so he went to eat with Lei Qiang.
If you are at an aviation base, there will be a special pilot restaurant with the highest standards in the military. However, in an aircraft factory, there are not many pilots in total. It is enough to open a small kitchen for the pilots.
At this time, Qin Tao was enjoying the treatment of a pilot, and Lei Qiang, who was sitting opposite him, did not feel anything wrong at all. At this time, he felt that he had a lot to say to Qin Tao, so eating became a Secondary.
“Leizi, thank you for your hard work this time. In such hot weather, you have to wear full equipment and perform for such a long time.” Qin Tao said to Lei Qiang.
“What’s the hard work? That’s what pilots have to do. Even in the middle of summer, we have to wear thicker clothes. We’ve long been used to it.” Lei Qiang said.
Although it’s hot on the ground, it’s cold in the sky. Especially at an altitude of 10,000 meters, the temperature is still below zero. If you don’t wear thicker clothes, if you encounter an unexpected situation and have to skydive, you won’t be frozen. broken.
So, no matter how hot it is, you have to dress thickly.
“Mr. Qin, we are holding a press conference this time to officially announce it to the public. Can any customers come to invest?” Lei Qiang continued to ask.
Qin Tao smiled: "Of course I will. I am very confident. You think, the era of stealth machines has arrived, but there are not many countries that can develop stealth machines. There will always be people who take a fancy to them. Why, do you think so? Are you interested in this aircraft?”
"Yes, our country needs vertical take-off and landing fighter jets, especially in the southern sea. If it still has stealth capabilities, it will definitely greatly enhance our control over the territorial waters of the motherland. However, it is too difficult for us to develop an aircraft. I don’t know how long it will take for this aircraft to mature.”
Qin Tao nodded. Of course he knew that Lei Qiang was inspired by this. The research and development of the J-10 went through hardships. The next J-31A will be technically more difficult and the development time will probably be longer.
"Yes, everything is difficult at the beginning. The J-10 is the first aircraft we developed, so it has gone through a lot of twists and turns. However, based on this aircraft, we have already come a long way, so we will continue to do so in the future. It will be easier if we go on." Qin Tao is still confident about this: "As for our J-31A, the biggest problem at the moment is funds. If there is a big financier, we can invest one billion US dollars. , maybe this aircraft will be ready for test flight within five years.”
A penny is too much for a heroic man. In order to build the J-10, Mr. Song even set up a stall selling noodles in front of the 611 for a period of time. He was so poor.
Although Qin Tao can make money, he cannot invest all his funds in the J-31A project. After all, he also has a lot to do.
So, what is lacking now is investment.
Although at the press conference just now, Zhao Dangsheng said that five billion U.S. dollars were needed, but he was just shouting it out to make money. In fact, the research and development funding for the J-10 is only 4 billion yuan, and the J-31 If A can get a billion dollars, it can go to the stage of test flight.
When it comes time for test flights and it is publicly displayed, it is estimated that more people will be willing to invest.
“Within five years? Isn’t that too fast? Aren’t there a lot of new technologies used on it?” Lei Qiang was a little surprised.
"Yes, it is true that a lot of new technologies have been applied, but it is just a case change. For us, the biggest difficulty is the engine. If we don't modify it and just use a replica of the original R-79 engine, five It should be produced within a year."
This matter was also promoted by Qin Tao. He brought back a complete set of information on the R-79 engine, including smelting information on various materials, etc.
So, if he just understands the technology thoroughly and then imitates it, he feels that time is enough. As for improvement and improvement, that is a matter later.
Engine technology is being solved by relevant departments. The lift fan project has been developed in the machinery factory in Huating and is progressing steadily.
What’s left?
It’s mainly about flight control, right?
In this regard, Qin Tao believed in Zhao Dangsheng. Moreover, the J-10 has already begun test flights, and there are no problems with the flight control. The 611's foundation in this aspect is already very solid.
As long as the flight control problem is solved, there will be no other problems in the development of the J-31A.
“Mr. Qin, this kind of stealth aircraft not only depends on its appearance, but also needs a special skin coating, right? It seems that only Americans in the world have this thing.”
Hearing what Lei Qiang said, Qin Tao nodded: "Yes, only the Americans have it, but if we look for opportunities in the future and knock down an F-117, we will naturally have samples of this stealth coating."
Knock down the F-117? Mr. Qin, are you kidding me? It is the most awesome stealth machine in the world. It has never been discovered after it was put into the battlefield.
Lei Qiang was a little puzzled, but he also knew that Mr. Qin was very magical. Once he said it, he would definitely do it, so he still couldn't raise his question.
“Mr. Qin, if this aircraft can really be developed, then our J-10 will be outdated.” Lei Qiang felt a little lonely again.
611 has spent decades of hard work, and the first finished product is the J-10, but what about now? If this J-31A comes out, the J-10 will be completely outdated.
"How could it be?" Qin Tao said: "The J-10 has already begun test flights. In five years, it will be equipped with troops. It will be matched with the domestically produced Su-27 to build our Great Wall in the sky. Even the J-31A It will make its first flight in five years, and it will take another five or even ten years before it matures."
"Moreover, the J-31A is only a medium-sized fighter. Our country is vast and rich in resources, and has a vast airspace to protect. Therefore, we also need a twin-engine heavy-duty fighter. After our 611 office completes the J-10 project, we can develop it again A twin-engine heavy-duty stealth fighter with a canard layout, so that after entering the era of stealth aircraft, we can still match it with high and low."
The J-31A project was initiated by Qin Tao. Although the performance indicators are excellent, it is only a commercial cooperation product, and it is only the foundation of a medium-sized aircraft. Qin Tao does not hope that this project will give domestic Other projects pose threats.
The motherland still needs heavy-duty fighter jets. After getting used to using the Su-27, it definitely wants a heavy-duty stealth fighter. Therefore, the J-20 project will not disappear. On the contrary, with the accumulation of technology on the J-31A , the J-20 will be even faster.
“Mr. Qin is right!” At this moment, a voice came.
(End of this chapter)