I ask you to build tractors, but you build rockets?

Chengdu, 611.

On the test track, the yellow-skinned J-20 test aircraft numbered 2101 began to taxi and successfully lifted into the air driven by two Russian-made AL31F engines.

Commander Yang Wei watched the No. 2101 test aircraft flying in circles and thought about the future of the J-20.

Four years ago, the first prototype No. 2001 made its first flight.

According to estimates, the first batch of J-20 will be finalized and put into mass production around next year.

But there is another problem with service: the engine.

The turbofan 15 "Emei" engine designed for the J-20 now seems to be continuing to be difficult to produce. It is not that it is technically difficult, but that the indicators are improving.

The current J-20 prototype still uses the AL31F. Although the turbofan 10 is available, it is not mature enough.

The Turbofan 10 is a product of twists and turns. At first, China obtained the Aramco F110 engine and core machine design, and then thought that it only needed to put a casing and outer duct on it, and then put the AL31F casing on it.

As a result, the Turbofan 10 prototype was a disaster, the kind that could spray parts out.

After some changes, the turbofan 10A finally became more stable and used in the J-11 series, but I still dare not use it on the J-20. It would be too uncomfortable if this aircraft crashed, so I'd better wait.

However, the mass-produced models next year will have to use turbofan 10A or other improved models. It is really a bit awkward to buy AL31F for fourth-generation machines.

But now Yang Wei is not thinking about Turbofan 10 and AL31F, but the XW-9 produced by Xinyuan Company.

After reaching an in-depth cooperation with the desert base, Xinyuan proposed that their XW-9 did not have a test aircraft available, and hoped to get a high-altitude and high-speed aircraft from the Air Force and use it for modification and verification.

At high altitudes and at high speeds, it was naturally the always-strong Ba Ye, so the military transferred a J-8F from the Rongcheng Military Region.

Not to mention, although the J-8F's engines are two turbojet 13s, it is reasonable to say that it cannot be installed with a turbofan engine with a thrust of more than 10 tons, but the XW-9 is really small in size and can fit in it.

When the J-8F flew to the B-level base for modification, Yang Wei also got the news and got the parameters of the XW-9, and was very surprised.

The afterburning thrust of 139KN, which is 13.9 tons, is already on the same level as the AL31F, but there is still a gap with the thrust of the 145KN turbofan 10C that is being improved. Looking at this alone, there is no need to introduce the XW-9.

But the XW-9 is very special. It is designed for high altitude and high speed. The engine operating conditions can support normal operation at 3.4 times the speed of sound at an altitude of 33,000 meters!

3.3 meters, 3.4 times the speed of sound! That is the double three three indicator!

The SR71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft is not that fast!

Moreover, the XW-9 has a very small bypass ratio and can be completely inserted into the J-20 body.

If the J-20 is appropriately modified, equipped with two XW-9 engines, and does some high-altitude and high-speed optimization, can an interception/reconnaissance model be developed?

Don't think that speed and altitude are not important in modern air combat. The advantages of stealth fighters, coupled with such altitude and speed, will have a huge advantage over aircraft of the same generation.

A few days later, Laba, January 17, 2016.

At the B-level base, a J-8F that was all gray and covered with reduced heat-insulating tiles, including the cockpit, was preparing to take off on the runway.

The J-8F's maximum flight speed is only Mach 2.2, and its maximum ceiling is 22,000 meters. It is a typical double-two-two, second-generation aircraft.

After Xinyuan engineers replaced two XW-9s, they attached hand-cut and adapted heat insulation tiles to the J-8F's fuselage and joints to increase the ultimate flight speed.

Anyway, just to test the XW-9, this J-8F was scrapped as soon as it was scrapped. I didn’t even spend any money to buy it. It was a gift from the Air Force.

After acquiring the SC09, Xinyuan has also made it easier to conduct various flight tests. It does not require test pilots to risk their lives to fly to the limit. At most, it will only lose a few pieces of X32035, and it can also remove the pilot's life support system to reduce weight.

At 10 o'clock in the morning, the empty weight of this magically modified unmanned J-8F was only 12 tons, but the two XW-9s provided 16 tons of thrust without afterburner, so the takeoff was quite radical, and it climbed directly at a large elevation angle. Anyway, the thrust was heavy Even if it stalls more than once, it can still be pushed up hard.

With the support of the engine, the J-8F, which is not good at low-altitude maneuvers, can also perform various maneuvers. The radar station of the Chengdu Military Region watched it climb crazily upward at an angle of nearly 40 degrees.

Since it was daytime, the tail flame of the XW-9 was not very clear, but the dark blue of the engine nozzle at the tail of the J-8F could be seen.

On the ground, the person in charge of the aviation development department looked at Wang Xun uncertainly:

"Can this thing you modified from the J-8F really fly to Mach 2.8? Don't worry, this is a suburb of the city, and two XW-9s are not cheap."

"Don't worry, I can't do it if someone is driving it, but no one can guarantee it."

Wang Xun looked confident: "I removed most of the structure and strengthened all the key pipelines and oil lines. There is absolutely no problem if it lasts 26,000 meters and Mach 2.8 for 15 minutes, but the temperature inside the machine is relatively high."

"How high?"

"It's about 43 degrees. It's not impossible if it's manned. But you have to put on a space suit and connect to the air conditioner, otherwise it will be too hot."

"..."

At this time, the J-8F had already flown to 23,000 meters, and the two engines had just turned on afterburner!

In addition to entering the combustion chamber, the fuel is also directly injected into the nozzle at the rear of the engine. When the atomized fuel encounters high-temperature gas, it is immediately mixed and burned, and the thrust increases sharply.

The speed of this 29-year-old aircraft instantly exceeded Mach 2.5 and turned into a bright dot on the radar, moving quickly on the screen.

At the Chengdu Air Force Radar Station, the duty officer saw that the height of test aircraft No. 82101 jumped from 23,000 meters to 28,000 meters, and the speed increased to Mach 2.93 in just a few minutes!

Xinyuan's ground command center found that the J-8F was in good condition at 26,000 meters. The SC09's body sensing sensors thought it could continue to accelerate, so the ground simply let go and let the SC09 fly to its limit in the predetermined airspace.

Then during the 10-minute flight, the J-8F's maximum flight altitude reached 30,400 meters, its maximum flight speed reached an astonishing Mach 3.02, the maximum temperature in the cabin was 65 degrees, and multiple electronic devices alarmed.

The shock waves generated by the test flight could be heard throughout Chengdu, but they never expected that the person making the noise was a 30-year-old Eighth Aircraft.

Finally, when sc09 returned to prepare for landing, it was discovered that the nose landing gear was deformed and stuck due to the high temperature baffle. After several attempts to no avail, it had to make an emergency landing.

The two main landing gears touched the ground. After taxiing for 700 to 800 meters, the nose of the aircraft slowly pressed down. Then the uneven friction caused the aircraft to deflect directly into the lawn. The wing fuel tank, which had long been cracked due to high temperature, was still leaking downwards. The kerosene was immediately ignited by the friction sparks and caused a fire. Fortunately, the fire truck was ready to rush up and put out the fire.

Finally, when Yang Wei and the leaders of the Rongcheng Air Force rushed over, they only saw the amazing J-8F lying on the lawn dejectedly. A piece of the wing was black and fell off, and many of the insulation tiles on the body also fell off. It looked terrible. .

When the leader saw this scene, he turned around and held Yang Wei's hand:

"Such high-altitude and high-speed aircraft are still necessary. I am convinced that the Air Force needs an interception version of the J-20. Buy it immediately!"