Chapter 873 Visiting the Charles de Gaulle
The Charles de Gaulle is the pride of the French Navy and is the only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the world besides the U.S. Navy. However, because its displacement is not very large, its actual combat capabilities are not strong.
Of course, this is also embarrassing for the French. After all, the Charles de Gaulle was born in an era of tight budgets. The French thought of many ways to save money. The use of nuclear submarine reactors for nuclear power was one of them. Facts have proved that they not only failed to save money , but also left many flaws.
The Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier was completed and officially delivered to the Navy in 2001. The entire construction cost was 2 billion. In comparison, the US 100,000-ton Nimitz-class super aircraft carrier only cost 3.2 billion US dollars.
This is just an aircraft carrier. There are also a large number of carrier-based aircraft waiting to be equipped by the French Navy, which is another huge amount of money.
In comparison, the aircraft carriers built by Dongfang are much cheaper. The price of an aircraft carrier with the same displacement built for customers is less than half of that of a French aircraft carrier. Coupled with carrier-based aircraft, the overall package price is even more shockingly cheap. I can believe that, especially, customers don’t have to spend money. With that kind of package plan, they can get warships without spending money.
The French want to invite Easterners to visit the Charles de Gaulle. The news spread quickly throughout the world. Many people are curious, what is the intention of the French in doing this? Do the French want to ask the Orientals for advice?
The two sides have competed in many markets. Now, France is obviously at a disadvantage.
They sent out an invitation, but the Oriental people did not come immediately. Instead, they delayed it until the Eastern Lunar New Year. During this period, the French did not know how they felt.
February 4, 2001, the beginning of spring. On this day, Qin Tao and his party arrived in France, and the special plane landed directly at the airport in the city of Brest.
The name Brest can easily make people think of Brest Fortress, but the French city of Brest is thousands of miles away from the Brest Fortress. It is located in the western part of the Brittany Peninsula in western France. To the south is the famous Bay of Brest. Because of these excellent conditions, it became a French military port and an important base for the French navy in the 17th century, and shipyards were built.
Today, Brest is still one of the two most important military ports in France. Even the French Triumph-class nuclear submarine is docked here. Of course, there is also a commercial port here. Over the centuries, it has also carried a strong The architecture of Celtic culture, overlooking the city from the plane, you will feel the charming atmosphere here.
Zhao Ling has not been out for a long time. Now standing on the land of Brest, she feels that everything is very fresh.
Brest Shipyard was very enthusiastic about the arrival of Qin Tao and his party. They greeted him directly at the airport, and they were all old acquaintances. Cadina walked up and shook hands with Qin Tao cordially: "Mr. Qin, welcome to Brest .”
“I’m honored to be back here again. I think of the last time I came here, even though it was ten years ago, but it seems like just yesterday, the city here was still as beautiful as before.”
Europe does not engage in much construction, so the cities will not change for decades. The vehicles in Europe are mainly hatchbacks. This is because the roads in their cities used to be carried by horse-drawn carriages, and the cars were too big and inconvenient.
"Yes, we also miss her very much. We established a deep friendship with Qin back then." Kaidina continued to look at the people around Qin Tao: "Is this your wife? You are so beautiful."
With that said, Kaidina planned to take Zhao Ling's hand and kiss it as a courtesy.
Qin Tao quickly stopped him: "Mr. Cadina, let me introduce to you the people I brought this time. They are all elites of our Mingzhou Group. They heard that they were going to visit the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, so they came with them. "
Did you bring others with you?
Kedina looked over and found that during the short exchange, more than 20 people had come down from behind. No, there were more than 30 people!
His brows suddenly wrinkled.
“Don’t worry, we will stay in the hotel by ourselves and we don’t need you to entertain us,” Qin Tao said.
Is this a matter of entertainment expenses? So many of you came to visit the aircraft carrier we are about to deliver to the Navy? Is this appropriate?
“Why, Mr. Cadena, do you seem to mind them coming?”
Mind, of course I do, but the words never came out. He hesitated for a long time, and finally said: "Welcome them, Mr. Qin, can you introduce them to me one by one?"
“Of course, come on, this is Yang Dawei, the designer of our Mingzhou Group Design Office. Many warships are made by him.”
Kedina's eyes lit up: "Your warship designer? Has Mr. Yang ever designed an aircraft carrier?"
Of course not, the aircraft carrier is the task of the Second Design Office, but Yang Dawei cannot say no at this time.
"Of course, our Mingzhou Group has built so many aircraft carriers, and he is also responsible for it." Qin Tao said, intending to continue the introduction. Who would have thought that Kaidina was interested in Yang Dawei and continued to ask: "So, you You must have also designed a comprehensive power system for the entire ship?"
“This is the responsibility of other designers. As you know, a warship is composed of multiple parts and requires many designers to work together.” Qin Tao said.
“So among the people coming this time, are there designers of 40-megawatt gas turbines?”
Qin Tao seemed to have realized something: "Of course there is. Does your aircraft carrier No. 2 want to purchase our gas turbines?"
When it comes to gas turbine technology, Britain and the United States are both great, but France is not. Just look at the aero engines. The French Mirage 2000 fighter uses a single rotor. Although the Rafale uses a dual-rotor M88, it is said to be the mapping of the F404. Imitation.
They also have no technical reserves for gas turbines. Now that the Charles de Gaulle has been built, it has been proven that nuclear power is a pitfall. What about their No. 2 ship?
Historically, only one Charles de Gaulle was built, but this does not mean that the French do not want to build a second one.
The French Navy originally had two aircraft carriers, the Clemenceau and the Foch. According to the original arrangement of the French, the Charles de Gaulle was scheduled to enter service in 1996 to replace the Clemenceau, and the second ship used Richelieu. Bishop Richelieu's name was planned to start construction in 1992 and enter service in 2004 to replace the aircraft carrier Foch. However, the Bishop Richelieu was never built because the Charles de Gaulle was seriously over budget and overdue.
what's next? What should they do?
They must still build one. After all, it is really not possible to have only one aircraft carrier. If the aircraft carrier is overhauled or even the crew comes back from the sea for repairs, they will have no aircraft carrier available. Two aircraft carriers can be used interchangeably, but one aircraft carrier will definitely not work.
However, after being deceived by the Charles de Gaulle, the French Navy also knew that it could no longer mandate nuclear power. Conventional power was also good. In 2000, they changed the No. 2 ship to a conventional power solution.
The routine is the routine, what to use next? Boiler or gas turbine?
Like the United States, after they built the two Clemenceau-class aircraft carriers, they never built naval boilers again. Over the years, the boiler industry chain has long been broken, and the companies that once built boilers have also closed down. , they simply had no way to find a suitable company to produce boilers.
And boilers are too backward. Seeing that ship power around the world is transitioning to gas turbines, of course they also hope to use advanced gas turbines!
So, what type of gas turbine is used?
The most common gas turbine in the world is the LM2500. After upgrading, the power is increased. The Americans do use this gas turbine on the 40,000-ton amphibious assault ship. However, the amphibious assault ship has a low speed after all, and it only needs to exceed 20 knots. But the aircraft carrier is not good. Their Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier only has 267 knots, and it already feels stretched and inconvenient.
So, they need a forty megawatt gas turbine!
At this time, after hearing Qin Tao's words, Duquesne was a little embarrassed. It was embarrassing for the always arrogant French to say that they needed gas turbines from the East. However, this was indeed one of their ideas, which made him He hesitated, a little embarrassed to say it.
Seeing his expression, Qin Tao understood: "I'm sorry, I'm overthinking it. Even if you want to purchase, you must purchase it from the UK. Our Eastern technology is backward, how can you possibly be interested in it?"
When Qin Tao said this, Duquesne became even more embarrassed. Philip on the side said: "Mr. Qin, the British only brag. They say they want to build a 40-megawatt gas turbine, but they don't have three to five years to build it. It definitely can’t be done by tinkering, and your gas turbine has completed the ignition test, so we are very interested in your gas turbine. Of course, the price of your gas turbine must also be cheap..."
When he said this, Philip felt that he seemed to have said too much. They were interested in Dongfang's gas turbines. It was not just that Dongfang's development progress was more advanced, but the key was that it was cheap!
The Charles de Gaulle cost too much, and they had long felt that they could no longer afford it. Their second ship planned to use conventional power, and they had already begun to search for a suitable power system around the world. After going around in circles, they suddenly discovered that, Dongfang’s gas turbines are actually the most suitable for them!
This kind of gas turbine has already been put into use. There is no need to wait for a long research and development process. The price of this kind of gas turbine is also cheap. Even if you purchase two units, the price is cheaper than one gas turbine in the UK!
One billion US dollars for a medium-sized aircraft carrier!
Qin Tao threw out a big bait. He knew that the French would definitely not let Ang build it by himself. After all, how could the proud Gauls give up their shipyard? A large order like an aircraft carrier not only provides the navy with advanced equipment, but also provides a large number of jobs in the country. Even if it is more expensive, it must be built by its own shipyard.
But now that Qin Tao has spoken, he has to keep talking. It’s not bad to disgust the French.
"The displacement of your Charles de Gaulle is limited to 40,000 tons because the size of your shipyard's dock is too small. Although the deck area is half larger than that of the Clemenceau class, the dimensions below are almost the same. , causing your aircraft carrier to be top-heavy and have to use an anti-roll system. If you leave it to us to build it, you can make the bottom bigger and make the aircraft carrier more stable without the anti-roll system."
The deck area of the Clemenceau-class aircraft carrier is 8,000 square meters. When it comes to the Charles de Gaulle, the area reaches more than 12,000 square meters. Coupled with the Hawkeye early warning aircraft, the French claim that the combat effectiveness of the Charles de Gaulle is Clermont. Three or four times the shuttle level.
But in fact, the dimensions of their lower parts are the same. After all, the dock of the Brest Shipyard is just that big. Because the lower part is smaller and the upper part is larger, the French specially designed an anti-rolling system. There are a lot of small cars in the cabin. When the ship shakes, it moves in the opposite direction to increase the stability of the ship. This device was originally used by destroyers of several thousand tons. It is no longer used by 10,000-ton warships. However, the French use it on 40,000-ton aircraft carriers. Yes, of course because their own aircraft carriers are defective.
If these were made by the Mingzhou Group, this situation would never happen.
However, in front of the person in charge of the Brest Shipyard, it was a bit inappropriate to say that he helped build it. For a moment, Cadina and others were speechless.
“Are you going to arrange a catapult for us?” Philip’s eyes widened. He is from the Navy, so of course he doesn't care about the interests of the shipyard, but more about the performance of the aircraft carrier.
France does not have the ability to develop catapults, so on the Charles de Gaulle, they purchased C-13 catapults from the United States, and they were severely ripped off by the Americans. The construction cost was 2 billion, a large part of which was purchased from abroad. cost of.
"Of course." Qin Tao nodded: "We have a mature steam catapult, which can be installed by you. Its performance is no worse than that of the C-13."
Steam catapult?
Disappointment flashed in everyone's eyes. They thought the Orientals would install electromagnetic catapults for them, but they didn't expect it to be an old device like a steam catapult.
“With a gas turbine, how can we use a steam catapult without steam?” Philip couldn’t help but ask.
"Specially burn the boiler, so that when ejecting the aircraft, you don't have to worry about the speed decreasing. Everyone can perform their duties. Everyone, are we talking too much here? We will visit your aircraft carrier and compare it with the Charles de Gaulle. How about each part telling our design philosophy?”
“Okay, okay, who here is engaged in gas turbines?” Duquesne asked.
“Let’s introduce them one by one.”
After introducing more than thirty people, it was already noon, so the group of people first went to a restaurant in the city to have dinner. After dinner, in the afternoon, everyone finally arrived at the dock of the Brest Shipyard.
The Charles de Gaulle has completed all the outfitting work and is currently in the sea trial stage. It will be equipped to the Navy. Although the Navy has been impatient for a long time, it still has to wait until all processes are completed.
Standing on the aircraft carrier deck, everyone feels that it is small. No matter how you expand the deck area of a 40,000-ton aircraft carrier, there is a limit. It is impossible to be like a 60,000-ton or even 80,000-ton aircraft carrier. The deck area of the 001 aircraft carrier is only Fifteen thousand square meters, a quarter larger than the Charles de Gaulle.
Qin Tao walked to the front of the angled deck and lowered his head to look at the splicing section of the deck. The Frenchman's skills were pretty good. There were no traces of the splicing. It had been polished and painted.
“Isn’t the size of this angled deck larger than the last time I came here?” Qin Tao asked.
Which pot is not to be opened and lifted?
Cadina nodded: "Yes, last year, we rented an E2 early warning aircraft from the United States and conducted takeoff and landing experiments on this aircraft carrier. We found that the Hawkeye early warning aircraft stopped after hooking the third blocking rope. , there were only three meters left from the front end of the angled deck, the safety distance was seriously insufficient, and it was inconvenient to dispatch, so it was extended by an additional 4.42 meters."
The main carrier-based aircraft on this aircraft carrier is Rafale. Fighters like Rafale are fine. They can successfully go around even if the arresting cable is not hooked. However, the E2 early warning aircraft cannot do it. If it is not hooked, it will be difficult to go around. If it is hooked, it will be difficult to go around. When it stops, it's also difficult to maneuver. The remaining three meters make it impossible for it to turn around directly, and it has to fall down again.
On an aircraft carrier, this kind of operation is not easy, and it is not like driving a car.
Hence, the French Navy had to add another deck for safety and efficiency reasons.
Now, the other party is honest. After all, the matter of adding another piece is already known to the whole world. In the field of shipbuilding, who does not know the pitfalls that Brest Shipyard has stepped on?
"The engine power of the Hawkeye early warning aircraft is too low, making it difficult to go around. To operate on such a small deck, you still need a high-horsepower aircraft. You can consider our Air Police 600, which has an engine of more than 10,000 horsepower. It is a Hawkeye The engine power of the early warning aircraft is twice that of the early warning aircraft, so it is easy to go around." Qin Tao said casually.
“Are you willing to sell us this early warning aircraft?” Philip’s eyes widened: “Can you give us a prototype for testing?”
"Of course, several customers have already chosen our early warning aircraft." Qin Tao said: "The E2C in the United States still uses Yagi antennas, but our early warning aircraft already uses phased array radar, and its performance is ahead of the American early warning aircraft. It can be carried on a ship and can even take off by ski jump. However, we do not have a prototype for you to test. If you need it, you can place an order directly."
You cannot give a prototype to the other party. Let the other party feel the performance of the Air Police 600 thoroughly, and then don’t want it anymore?
If the other party wants to buy, then place an order directly, and we guarantee that we can meet your needs.
If it needs to be modified, it must be done under our supervision. For example, if you want to install your Western data link, it will be completely operated by us. In this way, we can also get more intelligence. As for leaks? The ones for personal use and those for export are definitely different, and the secrets will not be leaked.
Hearing the direct purchase order, Philip couldn't answer the call. After all, he didn't really want to buy it, but just wanted to get information from the East.
“Our carrier-based aircraft is the most advanced.” Philip changed the topic: “Our Rafale fighter is the only carrier-based aircraft in the world with a canard layout!”
Because it has reached the final sea trial stage, there are also carrier-based aircraft on the Charles de Gaulle. They have to take off and land frequently to determine whether the aircraft carrier and carrier-based aircraft are compatible. After hearing Philip's words, Qin Tao pointed to one of them and said: "Then Is it your Rafale fighter jet?"
Looking at Qin Tao's hand, Philip felt a little embarrassed: "That's the super military flag."
Mr. Qin, you did it on purpose, right? Even if you are not familiar with airplanes, you can understand the canard layout and the conventional layout, right?
There are three aircraft parked on the deck, two of which are Super Etendards. They have mid-level wings with a 45-degree sweep angle, and a more eye-catching tail: the vertical tail is not on both sides of the tail engine, but on both sides of the tail engine. On the vertical tail.
As long as you see this layout, you can tell that it has a tail fin, and it is definitely not a canard layout.
Moreover, in the East, this kind of tail layout has only been seen on the J-5, which is an outdated aircraft!
The Super Etendard is an improvement on the Etendard fighter aircraft, which was an aircraft developed in the 1950s and 1960s, which shows how old it is.
Since the Super Etendard is super, it has naturally been modified in many aspects. The biggest feature is that it can carry Exocet missiles. In 1982, the Super Etendard carried Exocet missiles and successfully sank the Sherfield, and it has become famous ever since.
However, no matter how famous it is, it cannot hide its age. By the time when the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier was in service, the Super Ensign had long been outdated. The French Navy originally planned to use all Rafale fighter jets, but they had no choice: the Rafale fighter jets were too expensive and they had no money. Therefore, we can only keep part of the super military flag and slowly change the costumes.
So, there are also two Super Ensigns on the Charles de Gaulle, and there are only two of their Rafale fighter jets currently being tested, which does seem a bit uncoordinated.
At this time, the French were very embarrassed after hearing Qin Tao's words. Philippe introduced: "Mr. Qin, these two are both super flags, and the one next to it is the Rafale."
“Super Etendard? Is it the one that sank the Sherfield? That’s awesome! I didn’t expect that this aircraft is still in service. You must have modernized and upgraded it, right?”
Transformation? Even if you want to modify the small nose of this kind of aircraft, you can’t modify it! Philip was very embarrassed and continued: "Mr. Qin, let's take a look at the Rafale fighter jet. This is a masterpiece of Dassault."
Speaking of the Rafale fighter jets, it is indeed admirable. The French still have the backbone. When they joined the Eurofighter program, as a latecomer, they demanded to take the lead. They had to use their own engines and avionics. They were like the British. When people don't agree, they leave the group and do it themselves, and they actually do it.
There are very few countries in the world that can develop third-generation aircraft. The only one in Europe with independent development capabilities is the French.
(End of this chapter)