Chapter 677 Experimenting with the wealthy aircraft carrier
Integrated electric propulsion system? What's this? Everyone's eyes widened.
"We know that in previous warships, the engine directly drove the propeller forward. At the same time, there was a special generator to provide power to the warship. In the past, this method only required a light bulb, or later a few anti-aircraft units were added. In the case of radar, there is no problem, but now, there are more and more electrical equipment on warships. Various radars, various missiles, and computer systems all need to consume a lot of power. This kind of Then something went wrong.”
Qin Tao explained to everyone: "For example, if a warship wants to sail at high speed, the power of the engine needs to be high enough. At this time, the warship only needs to turn on an air-to-sea search radar, so at this time, it generates electricity The power of the engine is surplus. Wouldn't it be better if the excess power can be used to drive the ship? For example, on the battlefield, the warship needs to cruise. At this time, the speed is reduced and the power of the engine is redundant. However, After various devices are turned on, the power required will increase significantly, and even if all generators are turned on at the same time, it may not be enough."
This principle is very simple and everyone can understand it: if you need to sail at high speed, give energy to the propeller; if you need to start various equipment, give energy to electronic equipment. The distribution of electricity is very simple, and the distribution of mechanical power will be very simple. Difficult, so a brand-new technical route came out: all the power on the warship is used to generate electricity, and then the electric energy is redistributed!
For aircraft carriers, this method is even more important. Electromagnetic ejection and electromagnetic interception both require a large amount of energy. If a comprehensive power system is not developed, it will either be a waste or not enough.
“Do you still have such a system?” Everyone present was shocked.
"Of course." Qin Tao said: "Now, our Aegis warships already use this system, and our own developed new warships with a displacement of tens of thousands of tons also plan to use this system."
The construction progress of the aircraft carrier is very fast. Now, the first section has been welded. It can be clearly seen from here that although the Easterners do not tell the outside world, the Saudis can still guess what is happening in their hearts.
This kind of system is not difficult when there is no integrated drive. It must be installed on the 002 aircraft carrier, but it is difficult to add the drive.
After all, the power required to drive an aircraft carrier is too great.
Let’s take the Queen-class aircraft carrier as an example. After all, this aircraft carrier is the first to use an integrated electric propulsion system. To this end, it uses two 36-megawatt MT-30 gas turbines, plus two 9-megawatt single-machine power turbines. Ceylon 12V38B diesel generator set. In this way, the maximum output power of the main power system is 108 megawatts, of which 80 megawatts are used to drive four advanced induction motors of the French Corfud Electromechanical Company with a single power of 20 megawatts. The total propulsion power is 108,000 horsepower, making this 6.5 The 10,000-ton aircraft carrier reached a top speed of 26 knots.
At present, the largest domestic marine propulsion motor is of course still the 095 nuclear submarine. The permanent magnet propulsion motor used on it is 20 MW, which is already the most powerful in this era.
To use it to push the 80,000-ton 002 aircraft carrier, I'm afraid it will take more than eight units. This is absolutely impossible. Now, there is no problem using it to push the 40,000-ton aircraft carrier. Four units are enough to push this aircraft carrier. By 30 knots, big players have high requirements, and they will definitely look down on aircraft carriers with 25 or 6 knots.
"The biggest benefit of using this integrated electric propulsion system is that it omits the transmission shaft and reduction gearbox. These things not only occupy a lot of space, but also produce noise during operation." Qin Tao continued to fool: "Therefore, our advanced warships have abandoned this backward approach. The entire warship uses electric propulsion, which is the most appropriate solution."
Now, these people are left to listen. To them, this is a fantasy.
"We currently plan to use four boilers to drive two steam turbines as the main engine with a power of about 120,000 horsepower. At the same time, we will also provide two generator sets with a single power of 8 megawatts. In this way, the power of the entire warship will exceed 100 MW, in addition to driving four drive motors, there is still enough power left for other power equipment." Qin Tao continued.
“Boiler?”
Hearing what Qin Tao said, the rich people present showed dissatisfied expressions on their faces.
"Yes, everyone, currently, gas turbines are the best choice on warships with tens of thousands of tons." Qin Tao introduced: "After all, everyone should know that the power of gas turbines is not that great."
The most mature gas turbine in China is the GT15000, with a power of only 20 MW. If you want to achieve a power of 100 MW, you have to use at least five gas turbines. Even if you are a big business, you are not short of money, you cannot design the air inlet and outlet. The gas turbine needs The chimney is much larger than the boiler. When the time comes, even the twin islands may not be enough.
If the British MT30 gas turbine was developed, a single unit would have 36 MW, and two units would be possible. Since the 60,000-ton Queen class can be pushed to a speed of 26 knots, a 40,000-ton aircraft carrier can reach 30 knots. no problem.
However, this kind of gas turbine is not around yet. Even if it exists, it cannot be used because it does not consider the needs of the tropics. You have to lie down.
So, Qin Tao doesn’t like gas turbines at all.
At this time, everyone fell silent after hearing Qin Tao's words.
The power of the gas turbine is indeed not that great. If the gas turbine is not used, there is no other choice except burning the boiler!
“Unless you want nuclear power.” Qin Tao said: “If you use two nuclear reactors and two gas turbines, it will be almost enough.”
At present, domestic mature nuclear reactors are used on nuclear submarines. Although the thermal power of a single reactor reaches 150 megawatts, it is good to have 30 megawatts left when it is used in generators.
Two nuclear reactors, 60 megawatts, are enough for normal cruising. If power is needed, two more gas turbines can be turned on to make up 100 megawatts.
Salman shook his head: "No, it may be difficult for our region to accept nuclear-powered aircraft carriers."
Talk about the discoloration of nuclear power. When Shadamu built a nuclear power plant, it was directly bombed by the Israelis who attacked from a long distance. If they send a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier back, the balance of the entire region will be completely broken.
“So, besides burning the boiler, do you have any other choice?” Qin Tao asked.
“There is really no other choice, so let’s burn the boiler.” Salman agreed!
Boiler power, all-electric propulsion, this is probably the only one in the world! Qin Tao was also very emotional in his heart. Sure enough, the money of big dogs is easy to make!
The deck has been talked about, the power has been talked about, and the rest is easy to talk about.
"The hangar below can accommodate about twenty-five carrier-based aircraft. Including the number of decks, the total carrier-based aircraft can carry 55 aircraft. However, considering the actual situation, you only need to carry about forty aircraft when going to sea normally. A carrier aircraft is enough, and this kind of strength is enough to dominate the entire region," Qin Tao said.
“No, we will purchase sixty of them and have some extra backup machines,” Salman said.
Money is not a problem, the local tyrants have enough confidence!
Everyone present was shocked. This was their first time dealing with Saudi Arabia. They didn’t expect them to be so arrogant!
“In order to ensure more efficient operations, you also have to operate a group of ship-based helicopters, including anti-submarine, maritime rescue, airborne early warning and other tasks.” Qin Tao said: “I recommend that you purchase our Z-8.”
"Airborne early warning?" Salman became curious. Last time, Qin Tao brought up the matter of airborne early warning aircraft to command stealth aircraft operations. He knew that the Orientals had professional airborne early warning aircrafts, and he also expected the Orientals to modify a few C- 130 was used as an early warning aircraft, but he did not expect that the Easterners also had an early warning aircraft on a helicopter platform.
“Yes, our current 001 aircraft carrier cannot operate fixed-wing early warning aircraft, but our aircraft carrier also has early air warning requirements, so we modified the airborne early warning aircraft on the helicopter platform.”
“Is it the same as the British Sea King helicopter?” Someone asked.
On the ground or on a ship, radar is affected by the curvature of the earth. When detecting ultra-low-altitude aircraft, the distance will not exceed 40 kilometers.
In the Falklands naval battle that year, Argentina relied on the cover of the curvature of the earth and used the Super Ensign to quietly approach the British aircraft carrier formation, and then launched sea-skimming Exocet missiles. The results were remarkable. If they had had a few more Exocet missiles in their hands at that time, Missiles, the pattern of the world might really be rewritten.
The road is as high as the devil. With the ultra-low-altitude penetration tactics, there are also ways to counterattack. Airborne early warning aircraft have begun to become more and more important.
After putting radar in the sky, those ultra-low-altitude sea-skimming aircraft will be clearly visible and invisible.
If you want to have a long enough detection time and a far enough detection effect, you must have a professional fixed-wing early warning aircraft. However, it is too difficult for ordinary warships to operate fixed-wing early warning aircraft. The helicopter platform is convenient for taking off and landing, making it a better tool.
However, the helicopter body is small, so how to detect it is a big problem.
The British used a side-mounted method, placing the radar on the side of the aircraft body, and adding a radome on the outside to form a big ball. When taking off and landing, it was turned to the horizontal direction and retracted, and when used, it was turned downwards.
Due to their close relationship with the West, the first thing they thought of was the modification plan of the Sea King helicopter.
“Can we see your most advanced early warning aircraft?” Salman also became excited.
"Yes, it is our most advanced early warning aircraft. However, due to confidentiality and other reasons, we need to contact our superiors first and confirm it before we can do it. Now, let's move on to the following project, the issue of electronic equipment on the ship island."
The Saudis could no longer sit still. They were excited at the thought of visiting the early warning aircraft. Anyway, Eastern aircraft carrier technology has matured, and any electronic equipment needed has been installed.
After talking about various detailed issues for a full hour or two, the day's trip was considered over. Next came the banquet and celebration. The next day, everyone took a special plane to the flight test center.
Any country that can develop fighter aircraft needs a specialized flight test institution. Whether it is testing or finalizing, a professional flight test institute can better handle various problems.
Lao Maozi’s Zhukovsky Test Flight Institute is famous all over the world, and there are similar institutions in China.
When the plane landed on the runway, the first thing Salman and others saw was the most dazzling plane carrying a big plate.
The Air Police 2000 has completed its test mission and been delivered to the troops for use. What is still being tested at the Flight Test Institute are two early warning aircraft modified from the Y8 body. One is a large plate and the other is a balance beam. Due to this The airframe platform will not be restricted, and the price of the airframe can be reduced at the same time, so this early warning opportunity has become the backbone.
As for the carrier-based early warning aircraft, it is still being installed and debugged in the factory and has not yet reached the stage of test flight.
“This early warning aircraft of yours looks a bit small.” Salah asked.
Saudi Arabia also has early warning aircraft. The early warning aircraft purchased from the United States are the world-leading equipment they are most proud of. The early warning aircraft modified using the body platform of a passenger aircraft is of strategic level and is very large. The one in front of you looks like Very small.
"Yes, these are tactical early warning aircraft." Qin Tao said: "They are modified using our Yunba as a platform. If you plan to use C-130 as an airframe platform for us to modify, it will also be of this size. ."
"Yes, we have the idea to use C-130 to modify it. Qin, can we go up and have a look?" Salman was already eager to try it.
“We can’t rush this yet. We have not made an appointment in advance and need to apply to the relevant departments. Everyone, we can go and see the early warning aircraft converted from the helicopter first.”
Everyone followed the direction of Qin Tao's finger and saw the helicopter parked on the other side.
There is no big ball on the side of the helicopter, and it looks no different from an ordinary helicopter.
“Super Hornet helicopter?” Salah recognized the model of the aircraft at a glance.
This is a helicopter developed by France in the 1960s. With a take-off weight of 13 tons, it is already a large helicopter. However, because the engine performance at that time was limited, it used three engines extravagantly. At that time, many world records were also set.
However, its performance quickly fell out of date, so after entering the 1980s, France stopped producing this aircraft. However, in the East, this type of aircraft is continuously being produced.
Among the imported projects in the 1970s and 1980s, the Super Hornet helicopter was one of the main domestic projects. Over the years of production, its localization continued to improve. Later, after major changes, it was re-numbered Z-18. , has been in service into the 21st century.
Comparing to the four-ton Zhijiu, the Zhiba is more powerful than three aircraft. At the same time, due to its large take-off weight, it can carry more equipment. It is also most suitable for modifying airborne early warning aircraft.
Therefore, China has been developing this kind of early warning aircraft since the start of the 001 aircraft carrier project. However, after all, it has not been exposed to this before, so it still encountered a lot of difficulties in research and development. It is still being tested in the flight test institute.
"Yes, this is a carrier-based helicopter we produced after introducing Super Hornet technology." Qin Tao said: "This helicopter has a huge body and is most suitable for modifying early warning helicopters. It can not only equip aircraft carriers, but also 10,000-ton battleships. It’s also portable.”
At present, the main domestic carrier-based helicopter is the Z-9. The small body of the 052, which is four to five thousand tons, can carry two. After enlarging to the 052C, it can still carry two. The Z-8 is too big and can only carry 10,000 tons. Only battleships can carry it.
After arriving, with the 055, the Z-8 can be carried normally. Even if there is no aircraft carrier nearby, it can also take on the task of air early warning and **** the formation. Therefore, this kind of helicopter early warning aircraft also plays a great role.
While speaking, everyone had already arrived in front of the plane, and Zhang Feng, the person in charge who had been waiting here for a long time, came to greet them. (I couldn’t find this designer, so I made up one at random. Looking at the photos, this kind of early warning aircraft was columnar in the early stage, and flat-panel in the later period. We will use the flat-panel to introduce it.)
“Everyone, welcome to inspect our ship-borne early warning helicopter.” Zhang Feng extended his hand: “You can observe it on site today, and I can tell you any technical data you want to know.”
Salman shook the other person's hand: "We are very curious, where is the radar of this helicopter?"
"In the back, please follow me." Zhang Feng said and took everyone to the back.
Looking at the long flat plate in the groove at the tail of the aircraft, everyone was a little curious: "Is this a radar?"
“That’s right, this is our most advanced active phased array antenna array.”
“How does it achieve 360-degree monitoring?”
“When it takes off, it can rotate along the mechanism below and flip under the body, so that it can rotate to search the surrounding airspace and achieve 360-degree monitoring capabilities,” Qin Tao said.
“I see, it sounds similar to the plan for the Ka-31 early warning aircraft.” Salah nodded.
They were not familiar with Lao Maozi's equipment. They said they wanted to visit the early warning helicopter last night, so they did some research on the guest house's Internet and gained some knowledge. They also learned that Lao Maozi had this unique helicopter.
However, Lao Maozi's flat-panel antenna is different from this kind. Lao Maozi's antenna is folded under the belly and unfolded when used. And looking at the area, Lao Maozi's is obviously larger, several times larger than this radar flat panel. .
"No, it's much worse." Zhang Feng immediately shook his head: "Lao Maozi's plan still uses a waveguide antenna, and its performance is very backward. This radar designed by the Nizhnygorod Radio Scientific Research Institute is six meters long. Meter, one meter wide, and weighs 200 kilograms. Our radar is less than two meters long, less than half a meter wide, and weighs only 50 kilograms. Do you know what this means?"
Everyone shook their heads. Even if there were pilots present, they were fighter pilots and were not familiar with helicopter technology.
"This means that the aerodynamic resistance brought by our radar is smaller. When the helicopter is flying in the air, the flat antenna below will have a serious impact on the flight. Lao Maozi's early warning aircraft is difficult to control during flight. If the wind speed exceeds a certain If the conditions are not good enough to take off, the impact on us will be much less," Zhang Feng said.
When the Ka-31 is working, it will sway, just like walking on a tightrope. The impact of the flat plate is too great. This small flat plate has no additional impact on the aircraft.
“So, what about performance?”
The board is smaller, does it mean the performance is worse?
"Performance? We use an active phased array radar. Although this antenna is small, it has 800 T/R modules. Each module has a peak power of 10W and an average power of 2W. You can calculate it. Its actual performance. We can compare it with the Ka-31 radar. Its plane has 4 rows, each row has 24 transceiver units, and the total number is less than a hundred."
“Its detection range for low-altitude sea-skimming anti-ship missiles will also exceed 150 kilometers. For warships on the sea, the maximum detection range can exceed 300 kilometers?” Salah simply calculated.
"Yes, that's this kind of data." Zhang Feng said: "When performing a search mission, if our helicopter searches two hundred kilometers away from the mothership, it can obtain the sea surface conditions five hundred kilometers away. Even if Even when flying over the mothership, you can also have an unobstructed view of the situation three hundred kilometers away. Moreover, our phased array radar can not only rotate, but can also be fixed in that direction when it is necessary to detect special targets. In this way This can achieve longer-distance detection purposes.”
“This data sounds very good!” Salman also nodded.
"Yes, as long as the early warning aircraft has enough power, the detection range can be guaranteed. However, if it only searches for targets, then the early warning aircraft is too weak. It is like the American E-2 early warning aircraft, which many people say It is a flying Yagi antenna. If you want to become a qualified early warning aircraft, you must not only have the ability to detect targets, but also have the ability to command operations." Zhang Feng said: "You can come inside our cabin and take a look. The command and combat capability of our aircraft is even stronger than that of the E-2."
Generally speaking, the early warning helicopter serves as an early warning. The various target data searched still need to be transmitted to the mothership through the data link, and the mothership will take command. However, this method is impossible to adapt to the rapid changes in modern times. of the battlefield situation.
It would be much more convenient if we could directly command the battle.
The Zhiba has a large body space, but the space at the back is occupied by electronic equipment. Behind the front cockpit, there is an operating room for four people.
Each operating table has a flat-panel LCD monitor. Although it is only 17 inches, it is already relatively large in this era.
(End of this chapter)