Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

"Old Lu, we're here to see the plane. How's that aircraft coming along?" Old Lin asked immediately after getting out of the car, getting straight to the point.

"We've almost finished assembling it. By tomorrow, we should be able to conduct ground taxiing tests."

"So fast?"

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then filled with excitement.

"I heard that the Air Force and President Qin in the capital are under immense pressure for this project. How can we afford to delay?" Old Lu said, glancing at Qin Yang with gratitude in his eyes.

If it weren't for President Qin, Factory 320 would now be on the decline, or even facing its end. But now, thanks to the J-11 project, Factory 320 may very well become the largest aircraft manufacturer in the aviation industry. To them, President Qin is like a second parent.

They had heard how dissatisfied the leading Northern Institute was, and that President Qin was also under great pressure. They were deeply moved and unleashed tremendous potential, and now they are about to complete the assembly!

They will never forget the countless days and nights they fought on the front lines of final assembly, quenching their thirst with water, eating a mouthful of dry rations when hungry, and taking a nap on-site when tired. They were practically burning their lives for the progress of the aviation industry, and to win honor for President Qin and the Air Force. They were going all out!

"Of course, we also owe a lot to the technical personnel from Iran. With their help, our final assembly work has progressed smoothly."

This aircraft was obtained by deceiving Grumman. After dismantling it, some parts were copied and sold to Iran, earning a large amount of foreign exchange. Later, to speed up the final assembly of this aircraft, a group of technical personnel were invited from Iran.

It didn't cost any money; the other party provided free assistance. After all, if this aircraft is successfully developed, Iran's Tomcat fleet can be expanded.

The technical skills of the Iranian Air Force ground crew are quite strong. In the beginning, they relied on American technical support, but later, they parted ways, and the Iranians could only rely on their own efforts. Unable to obtain parts supplies, they could only rob Peter to pay Paul.

If a fighter jet crashed, they would need to completely dismantle it, take the useful parts, and transfer them to other aircraft. It can be said that they know the Tomcat like the back of their hand. Having them help is the fastest way.

"Iranian technical personnel? They have thoroughly studied the Tomcat. Inviting them over will indeed speed up the final assembly progress," Qin Yang nodded, looking at Old Lin.

"However, isn't there a significant risk in doing so?"

Although the Iranians would not actively betray them to the United States, there are no airtight walls in this world.

"Any technical personnel who come to work in our East will not return for the next few years," Old Lin said. "We have reached a gentleman's agreement. Moreover, they can also conduct the test flights of this aircraft. After all, they have the most experience."

"Yes, we don't have our own third-generation fighter pilots, and there's no time to train them now. If this first domestically produced aircraft crashes, it will have a terrible impact on our project. Therefore, we decided to first invite foreign aid to fly it," Old Lu said. "Moreover, there are still some parts that we cannot produce ourselves. We are using parts from the dismantled prototype, and Iran is also helping to provide them."

There are many parts on an aircraft, and it is impossible for one's own side to produce 100% of them.

"What else? Landing gear?" Qin Yang frowned.

"No, we can process the landing gear ourselves," Old Lu said. "We are using the materials and technology of the H-6 bomber's landing gear. Although it cannot temporarily meet the usage strength of carrier-based aircraft, it is no problem for land-based."

The landing gear is a thin-walled structure, with inner and outer sleeves, which is essentially a hydraulic shock absorber, but it must withstand the impact force during landing, so the strength cannot be low.

The main body of the landing gear is that cylinder.

The strongest in China is the H-6, after all, its maximum landing weight is 55 tons, and it bears the greatest impact force.

This thin-walled material should originally be cut from a whole blank, but it is seriously wasteful, and the required processing accuracy is very high. The H-6 uses the old Maozi's technology, which is simple and crude, welding several petals together.

Those who can weld landing gear are the most awesome technicians, and they weld it more than once. If cracks appear during use, they continue to weld. This skill is their own, and even the old Maozi don't have it.

Now, the only technology that can be used in China is this one.

Qin Yang nodded: "When our large forging press is built, the landing gear will be handed over to our Factory 960 to manufacture. We will introduce advanced CNC machine tools and use Western technology to process it, ensuring that it meets the landing requirements of carrier-based aircraft."

"Well, it's great to have our Factory 960," Old Lu sighed. "All kinds of technical problems can be handed over to Factory 960 to solve. By the way, after the final design is completed, we will hand over the complete set of technology to Base 011."

The plan for Base 011 to sell to Factory 960 is being discussed at a meeting in the capital. The old leader's opinion is to support it.

After the agreement is reached in the future, Factory 960 will definitely produce J-11 fighters at this base. Factory 320 has limited production capacity anyway and cannot meet the needs of the Navy and Air Force. It's just right to pull Base 011 along to do it together.

As they talked, they walked inside. When they entered the factory building and saw the fighter jet being assembled, everyone held their breath.

What a large aircraft!

Domestic fighter jets, from the J-5 to the J-7, are all small in size. Taking the largest J-7 as an example, even with the airspeed tube on the nose, it is less than 14 meters long, and the wingspan is only 7.15 meters.

If it were just big, it wouldn't have such a strong visual impact. Its shape is also very beautiful.

Previous fighter jets were just straight fuselages with wings and tail fins attached. The West gave the MiG-21 the nickname "Pencil", which is also very fitting.

The Tomcat is different; it carries a kind of majestic momentum.

Its head is slightly tilted downward. This design is beneficial to the pilot's field of vision. Now, it looks like an eagle overlooking the earth, inherently carrying a condescending aura.

The cockpit is arranged in tandem, front and rear. At this time, technicians are installing ejection seats. These seats are domestically produced and are different from the Tomcat fighter's. There is no pull ring on the top, and the canopy has not been installed either.

Looking from the busy cockpit towards the back of the aircraft, it extends backward at a small angle and then merges parallel with the main fuselage. From here, the fuselage becomes wider.

The huge wing box extends to both sides, similar to a blended wing-body layout, but it is not. It is just a wing box used to accommodate the pivot and other components.

Below it are the now-popular oblique-cut rectangular air intakes, the two-dimensional air intake ducts. Not only the F-14, but also the later F-15 used them. Although it is not a ventral air intake, it can also improve high angle-of-attack performance.

Looking backward from the wings, the fuselage becomes wider, so that the two engines have a one-meter spacing distance.

At this time, many technicians are still busy working on it. Qin Yang was staring at the aircraft in a daze when he suddenly heard an excited voice.

"President Qin, why are you here?"

Qin Yang looked over, also stunned: "Alagga, why are you here?"