Chapter 742: Innovative Aircraft Carrier
Geiger was the one who paid the most attention to Eastern Action among all the people. He proposed a plan to trick the Mingzhou Group into bidding. Although it was opposed by everyone, it was finally adopted by Benjamin.
According to their assumptions, as long as they let the word out, the Orientals would pounce on them. However, the reality was contrary to their expectations. The Orientals were unmoved and did not come to participate in the bidding at all!
Even the Zhang Zhongshuo program in the East was clearly mocking them. It was sarcastic and sarcastic, which made them extremely angry.
Geiger also knew that his suggestion was meaningless, but he was still paying attention to Dongfang. Just before the bidding meeting began, he had just received a new issue of Dongfang's "Ship Knowledge" magazine. There was another issue in this magazine. The coloring page, when he opened it, he was shocked.
Hypothetical picture of British aircraft carrier! Author: George!
This George not only satirized them on the Zhang Zhongshuo program, but also went to draw a special picture after the program was completed!
Dongfang's computer technology is very powerful. After this picture was drawn, it was rendered and looked almost like the real thing. Before the meeting started, Geiger showed this picture to Benjamin and other naval admirals. He would never forget everyone's reaction.
“This aircraft carrier is well designed.”
“Yes, ski-jump takeoff is still suitable for us. After all, we have been operating the Invincible class for decades. After the displacement increased, a parking area was vacated on the right side.”
“The two-ship island plan is also very good!”
The navy is a traditional military branch. Once you get used to it, you don’t want to change it. If you continue to use this ski jump takeoff and vertical landing scheme, their pilots will not need to undergo completely new training.
Looking at the vertical take-off and landing fighter jet landing on the rear deck, they felt even more excited.
However, Benjamin saw the signature at a glance, and then he became angry and almost tore the color page to pieces.
Now, this design plan from the BAE team is so similar to the design from Dongfang! Of course Benjamin was not satisfied.
“Everyone, before the meeting, we have just received the latest issue of Oriental magazine.” Geiger took out the color pages and fixed them on the whiteboard in the conference room with magnets.
"We can see that this aircraft carrier is designed as a dual-island solution. Our latest European phased array radar is installed on the front island. The rear is an inclined flue. The overall stealth design is also considered. It and There is also an elevator installed between the ships and islands at the back. The overall layout is almost the same as that of BAE Company." Geiger said: "We don't know how BAE Company got the inspiration for this design. Did it refer to it? Oriental design.”
“Damn it, they’re copying our plan!” Steve was annoyed.
In fact, we can’t say who copied whom. It’s just different approaches to the same goal. After all, there are only a few design options for aircraft carriers. If you want to stuff four gas turbines, you can only use double islands, and their electronic equipment is so limited. Many, that rectangular rotating phased array radar must be installed. Now it's good that it is actually considered to be plagiarized.
Thales people frowned.
Their design plans are also similar. It seems that the British Navy has been too stimulated by the East recently. They are absolutely unwilling to let their plans overlap with those of the East. Otherwise, I don’t know what the Orientals will say. As for those who gossip, especially Zhang Zhong, his words are too damaging.
"Quick, revise our plan immediately." Thales Group leader Macfield said in a low voice.
Modify the design? Now? Isn't this a joke? Mitchell, an engineer at Swan Hunter Shipyard, was confused: "We are too late!"
“Simple modification, modify our two-ship island plan.”
Their plan is of course also a dual-ship island, and Maxfield knows that this is inspired by the model released by the Mingzhou Group a few years ago. Four 40-megawatt gas turbines require an air intake of It's scary. If we don't build double islands, the air inlet will become a powerful vacuum cleaner, bringing a terrible turbulence area near the island.
"This is impossible!"
"Hurry, we don't have time. When the complaints over there are finished, it will be our turn! If you don't want to be fired, then act quickly!"
Mitchell's hand shook for a moment, and then he opened his notebook, controlled the shortcut keys with his left hand, and the mouse with his right hand, and started drawing frantically. Sure enough, the Godson notebook was very powerful and ran very fast.
"We in Great Britain have an innovative spirit. Now these two aircraft carriers must have our characteristics!" Benjamin continued to speak on the rostrum: "Back then, it was we who put gas turbines on warships and brought about a warship power system. Revolution, back then, we created the ski jump take-off method. Now, we must continue this innovative spirit. We cannot follow others! Now, let us take a look at the plan proposed by Thales Group. Can You can’t let our eyes shine.”
Macefield looked at Mitchell next to him and saw that his fingers were still flying, knowing that he had to delay for a while.
"Yes, we must have innovation on our warships, so we plan to use an integrated power system." Maxfield stood up: "We have always been at the forefront of the world in the power system of warships. In the past, We have already realized the use of gas turbines for the entire fleet, and now we are going to realize the integrated power system for the entire fleet. This system will not only be used on our Type 45 destroyers, but also on our aircraft carriers. system!"
"We use four 40-megawatt gas turbines, so that the power can reach 160 megawatts, plus two diesel engines, the power can reach 180 megawatts. Such a large power, if it is directly passed through the transmission The shaft is transmitted to the rear, and the transmission shaft is too long, which will cause serious power loss." Maxfield said: "Moreover, we also need to use electromagnetic ejection and electromagnetic arresting systems, which require sufficient power supply, so we The most appropriate way is to turn all power into electricity and transmit it through electricity.”
Previous aircraft carriers did not have this problem. Whether it was a heavy oil boiler or nuclear power, the steam in the boiler could flow through the pipes. Therefore, the steam turbines were arranged at the rear of the warship, so that the power could be output directly through the shortest transmission shaft. later.
The gas turbine will not work. Because the required air intake is too large, the pipeline must take the shortest route. The gas turbine is arranged directly under the bridge. This leads to a big problem: how to transmit the power to the back?
Use a traditional drive shaft?
This kind of transmission shaft that frequently transmits tens of kilowatts or even hundreds of kilowatts of power will bring huge noise and vibration, and as the transmission distance increases, the power loss will become more and more serious. Therefore, the best way is to use an electric propulsion system!
Benjamin became excited: “Go on!”
"Each gas turbine and diesel engine will drive a corresponding generator, which is then uniformly distributed through our integrated power system." Masefield said: "For the subsequent drive system, we can use French Corfud electromechanical The advanced induction motors produced by the company are currently on the Type 45 destroyer. The maximum power of this induction motor is 20 megawatts. We hope that they can develop a new 40-megawatt electric motor for our aircraft carrier. Four of them will be enough. If they can't do it, then we will use the existing eight units, and every two units will be connected in series to drive the propeller at the tail, and we will use a four-axis propulsion solution."
Mitchell stopped and wiped the sweat from his forehead, and Macfield was finally relieved.
“Next, let’s ask everyone to see our design drawings. Mitchell, please explain it to everyone.”
Mitchell stood up.
"Everyone, our plan is also to eject take-off and prevent landing. We have set up the bow landing area on the left side of the catapult, and on the right side of the catapult, close to the ship island, we can set up an additional parking area, so that we can Increase the number of downtimes by at least five." Mitchell connected his laptop to the projector. When the video switched and saw the image, everyone exclaimed: "How come your ship island has become a flyover?"
If you want to make changes on the spot, how can it be so easy! Mitchell had no choice but to add an overpass between the two islands, thus forming a portal structure!
"Yes, this is our innovation." Mitchell continued: "We know that if we want to have an intake and exhaust system suitable for gas turbines, we have to design it as a double ship island. However, we must not take the Eastern path. To make others think that we are copying Eastern designs, our ship islands must have our own characteristics.”
The people in the BAE bidding team stared closely at this design drawing. It was obviously modified on the spot. It was too much. It was too much. If I had known it, I would have let them show it first!
“Yes, this design is very unique, keep telling us about it.” Benjamin said.
"The front bridge is the main one. We also specially designed a combat command center with four windows on it. Here, you can have the best view." Mitchell pointed to the small small four-sided window on the top of the front bridge. Shedzi said: “At the same time, we also know that the larger the bridge area, the easier it is for our personnel to move, but at the same time, it also means that the bridge’s floor space increases, which will affect the amount of aircraft on the deck, so, We simply made this overpass design. The center of the two front and rear islands was designed as an elevator. Above this, we cleverly used the top space to increase the use area of the bridge by at least 300 square meters. It can be designed as Various areas, and even several large rooms can be arranged for the commander to live."
Lao Maozi's aircraft carrier has a large island, and officers like to live there, but the West is taking the route of small islands to make room for more carrier-based aircraft. Now, this kind of double island has an additional island in the middle. The corridor plan not only reduces the hangar area, but also increases the usable area of the ship island. It is definitely an innovation.
The United States has a special command ship, but other countries cannot do this. Fleet command structures are generally designed on the largest warships. If there is an aircraft carrier, of course it will be an aircraft carrier. Therefore, an aircraft carrier must not only have a captain and aviation commander The captain should also carry some more senior fleet commanders when necessary.
These people definitely need a comfortable living environment. This overpass has windows on both sides, so it is definitely the best room.
“Okay, of course, no problem.” Mitchell replied.
Macefield also nodded. Mitchell is good. He is a talent and can be well cultivated! In the future, maybe I can really become an excellent warship designer.
"No, this design has big drawbacks. The twin islands have already caused turbulence in the airflow on the deck. The addition of this corridor will make the airflow more complicated, which is not conducive to the takeoff and landing of carrier-based aircraft!" The bidding rival is about to succeed, and BAE here is anxious. Steve shouted immediately.
“Mr. Steve, how do you know the airflow will be turbulent? Have you done any wind tunnel testing?” Mitchell asked.
Steve shook his head: "We all know that there is building wind under high-rise buildings, and these two ship islands, with corridors in the middle, must be the same."
“Since we haven’t done wind tunnel testing, don’t say for sure. We will modify the shape to make the island side area larger, and perhaps make our deck airflow more suitable for the take-off and landing of carrier-based aircraft.”
"All-electric propulsion is unreliable and the risks are too great. Once the integrated power system fails, the warship will completely lose power. In order to make the warship more reliable, conventional propulsion methods must be retained." Weston is also anxious. .
The integrated power system of the whole ship is high-end, but the risk is also very high. Even Dongfang's 002 aircraft carrier still retains the original drive shaft propulsion method. Except for the propulsion system, everything else is controlled by electricity. In this way More secure.
However, the British plan is very radical. Once the brakes are blocked, the Queen-class aircraft carrier will be completely idle.
“Conventional propulsion method? Isn’t that too backward? We are the most powerful industrial country, so how can we not make progress for decades?” Maxfield said.
"Yes, we must have our own advanced solutions." Benjamin said: "We have been innovating over the years. When we used gas turbines for the entire ship, someone also said this. What will be the result? History will be merciless. Eliminate those who are not enterprising!"
Well, what else can I say?
“I announce that Thales Group’s project has won! We will allocate 50 million pounds to Thales Group for the next step of development and demonstration work!” Benjamin said.
Those people at Thales Group were excited. They did not expect to win the bidding so easily. Ordinarily, the bidding for a project requires many rounds of comparisons and can easily last for months or even years.
Now, just because of innovation, they got the bid!
“Now, give me your initial plan and I will forward it to London.”
"Well, we are in a hurry and are not ready yet. Please wait a moment while we go to print." Maxfield said.
They actually have paper documents, but they are all according to the original design. Now they are temporarily modified and there is no time to print them.
“Okay, then hurry up!”
That evening, inside the largest Gothic building in London.
"We have selected the bidding plan and you need to take a look at it." Benjamin took the thing in his hand and handed it to Sir Michael Boyce: "Sir Boyce, you come first."
The temporary drawings were very crude and not rendered, so they looked a bit monotonous. However, Boyce was in charge of the navy, so he could certainly recognize it at a glance.
"Yes, the design of this aircraft carrier is very unique and reflects the innovative spirit of our British Navy. Over the years, people have constantly said that our British Navy has been resting on its laurels and lost its ability to innovate. Even the East has developed Aegis battleships. But we are standing still. Now, we must let the world see that our aircraft carrier is also very powerful." After Boyce finished speaking, he handed the first design drawing to Jimmy Brown beside him.
"This design is very good, but we are not very optimistic about the budget." Brown said: "The Navy insists on building an advanced aircraft carrier with catapult takeoff and arrested landing. Many subsystems of this aircraft carrier need to be developed or outsourced. It’s a huge waste of money.”
Although they have been stimulated to work hard to build advanced aircraft carriers, financial difficulties still come first.
"Currently, even the United States has not mastered electromagnetic catapults and electromagnetic arresting systems. If we purchase them from the United States, it will cost at least 200 million pounds. If we develop them ourselves, it will probably be even more expensive because the supporting aircraft carriers are limited. "
In fact, 200 million pounds is still low. In later generations, the American General Yard Technology Company directly priced this system at 458 million pounds, and then further increased it to 200 million pounds. Even their most loyal younger brother in the UK should be slaughtered. Dezai. At that time, the British planned to transform the two Queen-class ships into a catapult take-off scheme to increase the efficiency of aircraft dispatches. As a result, the Americans tricked them hard. They added supporting services and so on, and modified one ship. It would cost one billion pounds, and the cost of the British aircraft carrier skyrocketed by one-third, so they finally gave up.
Now, they are ambitious and plan to launch electric bombs directly. The navy may not want to worry about how much money to spend, but the financial department cannot!
"In addition to these costs, there are also carrier-based early warning aircraft that we need to outsource. We can use the French as an example. France purchased 3 E-2D Super Hawkeyes for their Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier. At the same time, the French also need Related training, radar, spare engines, personnel training and other projects, together, their contract quotation is US$2 billion! Even the price we can get is cheaper. Two aircraft carriers are equipped with six carrier-based early warning aircraft. I’m afraid it will also cost 3 billion U.S. dollars. At this rate, how much will our two aircraft carrier projects cost in total?”
Brown must make plans for the future, because in 1997, he had already completed his first term. As a result, because of his outstanding work, he started a second term. If nothing else happens, he will continue to do so in the future. If you continue to manage the finances, all the money will come from him. He will definitely have a headache when the time comes.
“Also, in terms of carrier-based aircraft…”
"Mr. Brown, what do you want to say?" Benjamin was a little dissatisfied: "Please explain it directly."
"I mean, what kind of catapult does our navy use? What kind of fixed-wing early warning aircraft do we need? We can simply use vertical take-off and landing fighter jets and early warning helicopters." Brown said: "In this way, we can save at least three Four billion pounds.”
"No, without carrier-based early warning aircraft, there will be no victory in modern naval battles. Our aircraft carriers cannot be inferior to those in the East!" Benjamin was anxious: "The lessons of the 1982 naval battle are too profound. We must not make the same mistake!"
"Sir Benjamin, does our navy still need to fight another Falklands naval battle?" Brown asked: "You should also know that the mission of our navy is to follow the **** of the US aircraft carrier. To deal with some small countries, the plan I proposed Isn’t it possible? Our pilots will have a short time to adapt and a short time to form combat effectiveness. Although their legs are short and their anti-ship capabilities are a little worse, with the U.S. Navy by their side, what should we be afraid of?"
“We don’t have a vertical take-off and landing fighter. The American vertical take-off and landing fighter needs several years of research and development. We can’t afford to wait!” Benjamin was anxious.
"Perhaps this would be better? There will be aircraft carriers first and carrier-based aircraft later, so our financial burden will be reduced a lot." Brown said that this is not a problem, this is actually better. Let's take our time.
“We have an aircraft carrier but no carrier-based aircraft? That would make our Royal Navy a joke!” Of course Benjamin was dissatisfied. This is pure nonsense!
“Everyone, I have an idea.” Seeing that the two were about to quarrel, Boyce spoke.
"what idea?"
“We want modern aircraft carriers, but we lack the funds,” Boyce said. “So why don’t we think of a way to make some money through the aircraft carrier project?”
"Making money? How to make money?" Brown looked at Boyce strangely. The Navy spends money to build aircraft carriers, and it will continue to cost money to maintain and operate aircraft carrier fleets. He has never heard that building aircraft carriers can make money.
“You must have heard about the Super Sun King aircraft carrier, right? Damao made billions by building the aircraft carrier for Asan!”
Everyone reacted: "You mean, we build an aircraft carrier of the same model for Ah San, and then use the money we earn from building the aircraft carrier for Ah San to maintain the construction of our aircraft carrier?"
"Yes, Ah San was cheated by Da Mao and was very annoyed, so they decided to build their own aircraft carrier. However, their progress was very slow. They have realized how difficult it is to build it by themselves. And we in the UK want to build the first aircraft carrier in the world. The most advanced aircraft carrier! Therefore, they can definitely join our project and quickly obtain a modern aircraft carrier. They have said more than once that in order to safeguard their maritime rights and interests, they need a fleet of at least three aircraft carriers."
(End of this chapter)