Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

Qin Yang, after all, was an outsider and didn't know the ins and outs of it.

He only knew that the Aspide missile had taken the Italians a long time to match with fighter jets.

In fact, the air-to-air version of the Aspide had undergone launch experiments as early as 1974, but it was not formally developed because there was no demand.

In the early 1980s, the Italian Air Force, seeing that its aging fighter jets could no longer be used and that European fighters would not be in service for more than ten years, decided to improve the F-104 S to the F-104 ASA in order to fill this gap, and then began to work on the air-to-air version of the Aspide.

The debugging work mainly focused on debugging the weapon system of the F104 fighter, not the missile itself.

As long as there was a qualified airborne radar to lock onto the target, and as long as there was a continuous wave illuminator constantly illuminating the target, then their missile would definitely hit the target, it was that simple.

When matching it with the J-8 back then, the J-8 used the 208 radar, which was not a pulse-Doppler radar at all, but it could still be used, as long as there was continuous wave illumination, it was that simple.

"Okay, then next we will match it with the fighter jet. After the matching is successful, I will give everyone an even bigger bonus!"

"Long live!" Everyone cheered.

Old Lin became even more excited.

Inside the workshop, there were still several hand-made missiles, with milky white bodies and four trapezoidal fins inserted in the middle and tail.

Old Lin stretched out his rough hand and gently stroked the slender missile, carefully, for fear of damaging it.

"What is the range of this missile?"

"Fifteen to twenty kilometers for surface-to-air, and eighty kilometers for air-to-air at high altitude."

"Eighty kilometers?" Old Lin was stunned: "That's so far? Even the Sparrow missile doesn't have that range!"

"This is because our missile has clipped delta wings, resulting in less flight resistance."

The method of clipping the wingtips was to meet the requirements of the square launch box. After all, this thing was not intended to use folding wings. The diagonal of the square launch box was just enough to accommodate the wings, and after clipping the tips, the size of the launch box could be greatly reduced.

Then, it brought the advantages of small flight resistance and long range, but only for air-to-air missiles, and only for high-altitude trajectories.

The reduction in the range of the surface-to-air missile was not only because of the greater air resistance on the ground, but also because it did not have an additional booster. It relied on its own engine to pull itself up from the ground, and all the power was consumed in the take-off stage. If a booster was attached later, the range would definitely reach thirty or forty kilometers.

However, these were things for the future. Now, the first step was to solve the problem of existence.

Old Lin stared at the air-to-air missile, his eyes full of anticipation, as if he was imagining it hanging on his own fighter jet.

The sky outside was getting darker and darker, but the conference room of a certain unit was still brightly lit.

"We have done a detailed investigation and decided to go to the United States to take a look." Old Li sat in his chair and reported to a large group of leaders in front of him: "After comparison, we feel that the airborne radar of the F-16 fighter is of a suitable size, and with the Sparrow air-to-air missile, it can allow us to quickly have medium-range interception capabilities and fill our gap."

There were thirty or forty people in the conference room, some wearing military uniforms, some wearing Zhongshan suits or uniforms, and all of them were not young. Above the rostrum of the conference room, there was also a line of yellow characters on a red background.

"If we can't take care of engines and the like, we can put them aside for the time being, but updating our airborne radar and missile system is urgent. Fighter jets all over the world have entered the era of medium-range air combat, and we still have to rely on dogfights or even cannons, which is absolutely not acceptable. We must seize this opportunity to quickly improve the strength of our aviation industry." Old Li continued to introduce.

"Relevant domestic units are also developing airborne radar and medium-range air-to-air missiles. Is it necessary for us to import them?" An air force leader asked.

"Of course it is necessary. Everyone knows the strength of relevant domestic units." Old Li continued: "We originally planned to equip the J-8 II with advanced pulse-Doppler radar, but what was the result? The relevant units gave us an enlarged version of the 204 radar rangefinder, which is the 208 radar. Domestic technology is too poor, and now the opportunity is hard-won, we must seize it!"

Some leaders on the rostrum began to nod: "Yes, the current opportunity is rare, we need to rely on imports to quickly realize the modernization of our defense equipment! It's a pity that our own military enterprises are still not strong enough."

"Who said that our own military enterprises are not strong enough?" Just at this moment, a voice came from outside.

The leaders of the aviation industry system present frowned. Just by the sound, they knew that Old Lin was here, while the air force leaders present were all excited and looked towards the door.

"Old Lin, you're finally here. You went to the airport to pick up equipment, why did it take so long?"

Old Lin's eyes were bright: "I said long ago, get closer to President Qin, and we can have good things! Now, the development of our military industry depends on Factory 960."

"Surface-to-air missiles! They have successfully developed a surface-to-air missile that can intercept ultra-low-altitude targets! For so many years, our air force has been relying on the Hongqi-2 air defense missile. Now we finally have a modern missile!"

"Old Lin, the air-to-air missiles and radar we are currently researching are not surface-to-air missile systems, the two are different." Old Li couldn't help but say: "You are from the air force, you should know this, right?"

"Of course I know." Old Lin nodded: "But this surface-to-air missile is universal. When placed on the ground, it is the Hongqi-16, and when hung on the plane, it is the PL-11. Moreover, it can perfectly match the airborne radar developed by Factory 960, and can also achieve a maximum range of eighty kilometers!"

As soon as the number eighty kilometers came out, everyone present was stunned.

Eighty kilometers!

The world's longest-range air-to-air missile is the Phoenix, which can fly more than 100 kilometers. Almost no other missile exceeds 50 kilometers.

"How is that possible? We don't have this technology in China!" Old Li was anxious.

"Old Li, are you so sure that China doesn't have this technology?" Old Lin rolled his eyes at him: "Haven't you heard of the magic of Factory 960 in the past few years? There is no technology that they can't handle! Their technology is the best in the world!"

Old Li took a deep breath: "It's useless for us to argue about these things now. Technological breakthroughs are not easy. Even if they have these projects, what about it? Are they mature? Can they launch one now for us to see?"

"Yes." Old Lin nodded: "The surface-to-air missile is undergoing final debugging and can be used for target testing at any time. The air-to-air missile model can continue testing as soon as the radar testing is completed."

"Radar testing? How long? Five years or ten years?"

"Cough cough." An air force leader said: "Before the meeting, I contacted the Flight Test Institute. The radar being tested can already meet the needs of launching missiles. It's just waiting for the missile. Now that the missile is ready, we can start testing at any time."

"Is that so? That's great!" The leader who chaired the meeting was immediately excited: "Okay, then we will wait for your good news!"

"Secretary Song, what about us?" Old Li was anxious.

"You wait a little longer. Let's end today's meeting here."

Old Li looked at the slogan hanging in the conference room: J-8 III Fighter Airworthiness Improvement Project Demonstration Meeting, and couldn't help but clench his fists.