Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

Old Lin glanced at the design drawing, then at Qin Yang.

What was President Qin's reaction? He seemed to be frowning and contemplating?

Old Zou also looked at Qin Yang: "President Qin, what do you think of this design proposal?"

"I want to know how this aircraft can surpass the F-16, just relying on the engine?" Qin Yang's face was filled with doubt: "Your leading-edge extension is so small, I'm afraid you're still using a hydraulic control system, right?"

Among the third-generation aircraft, the American F-14 and F-15 both used hydraulic controls. The F-14 was developed first, putting great pressure on McDonnell Douglas. After the F-15 project was initiated in 1965, progress was very rapid, with its first flight in 1972 and finalization in 1974.

At that time, fly-by-wire control was not used because the Tomcat fighter had already succeeded. If the F-15 had an accident due to high technical risks, it might have been canceled by Congress, and the Air Force would have had to sadly use the Navy's fighter jets.

At the same time, at that point in time, fly-by-wire control was still in its initial stages. It was initially used on the training spacecraft for the Apollo moon landing. The technology belonged to NASA. In 1972, the Department of Defense and NASA cooperated to install the Apollo moon landing spacecraft's related systems on the F-8C, rewriting the software and conducting fly-by-wire flight control experiments.

By the time it matured, the F-15 had already been mass-produced and put into service, so only the F-16 caught up with fly-by-wire control.

Similar to canards, large leading-edge extensions also bring nonlinearity in the control moment, so only fly-by-wire control can conquer the leading-edge extension layout.

The Northern Institute's design方案 is similar to the F-16, heavily borrowing from the F-16's aerodynamic layout, but they can't solve the problem of the angle-of-attack-induced lift nonlinearity of the leading-edge extension, so they can only desperately reduce the leading-edge area in order to use hydraulic control.

The role of the leading-edge extension is to generate vortices, thereby allowing the aircraft to obtain more excellent maneuverability. Now, the Northern Institute has created such a model, its performance is definitely not as good as the F-16. Now they actually hope to use a high-thrust engine to make it surpass the F-16?

What a joke, with our country's level, can we develop an advanced engine?

"That's right, it's relying on the engine!" Old Li said enthusiastically: "We have already discussed it with Engineer Zhang from Institute 606. They hope to initiate the development of a third-generation engine with a thrust-to-weight ratio of 8 and a maximum thrust exceeding 120 kilonewtons. The developed engine will be used for our J-13."

"That's right, we need an advanced engine. Let's simply initiate the aircraft project and the engine project together." Leader Wang nodded immediately.

Qin Yang sneered.

"President Qin, what are your thoughts?" Old Zou asked.

"After so many failed models, you still have the nerve to say the stupid thing of initiating the engine project and the aircraft project together. If the leaders of the aviation industry system are all this unprofessional, then it's really hopeless."

"What are you saying?" Leader Wang's face darkened.

Even if everyone is secretly competing, they are still harmonious on the surface. At such a crucial meeting, with so many people present, President Qin actually started scolding people, that's too much.

"I'm saying, if you don't have the ability, then retire, go to the park to practice Tai Chi and walk your bird, isn't that great? Why bother leading the professionals here as an amateur."

Leader Wang's face turned black, his whole body seemed to be trembling with anger. He looked around, his gaze falling on Old Zou.

"Old Zou, I am also a leader of an important department, President Qin is scolding people like this, I beg you to uphold justice for me."

"Oh, Qin Cannon is indeed Qin Cannon, bombing wherever he goes. Old Wang, don't worry, you're not the only one who has been bombed." Old Zou looked at Qin Yang with a smile: "President Qin, stop talking nonsense, quickly get to the main topic."

Old Li was left hanging there, the introduction of the J-13 had only just begun!

"Over the years, our domestic aviation industry has taken many detours. The WS-6 is a living example. Back then, great hopes were placed on this engine, hoping it would be used on multiple aircraft, but what was the result?" Qin Yang said: "From the sixties, we have been struggling until now, and the WS-6 is still on the test stand, with all sorts of problems!"

"Now, we are going to start a brand new third-generation turbofan engine, and it's a high-thrust one. How many years will this engine take? Is ten years enough? During this time, are we going to let the aircraft wait for the engine? Can we afford to wait? What if it drags on for twenty years? Is the Air Force going to wait for twenty years?"

"Isn't the lesson of the WS-6 enough? Leader Wang, please analyze, what exactly is the reason for this?"

"Of course, it's the environmental problems of the country in previous years. Now our country has a stable development environment, and I also believe that our engine researchers can complete this glorious and arduous task, as long as they are given sufficient funding, they can develop this engine with international advanced level in five years!"

"Five years?" Qin Yang smiled: "Indeed, you really are an amateur!"

"What, why are you doubting our researchers? What qualifications do you have?" Leader Wang also became anxious, his face red and his neck thick.

"Okay, let's take the world's first engine with a thrust-to-weight ratio of 8 as an example. In 1968, the US Navy and Air Force put forward the requirement. That year, the two major aviation engine manufacturers, Pratt \u0026 Whitney and General Electric, began to invest in research and development. In 1970, Pratt \u0026 Whitney won the contract and began a long period of research and development."

Qin Yang emphasized the words 'long period'.

"By 1974, the F100PW100 was officially put into use. How many years did it take? Seven years! The world's top engine manufacturer took seven years. What about us? We can build an advanced engine in five years? Did we get help from aliens?"

"You don't believe in the power of the people!"

"I only believe in science!" Qin Yang said: "Aviation engines are the crown of industry, the embodiment of a country's most advanced technological strength! It can't be made just by shouting slogans. Back then, our WS-6, it is said that it only took one or two years to build the engine and put it on the test stand, and then what? Then there was a long and endless series of failures and troubleshooting!"

Below the stage, the experts from Institute 606 were unhappy and wanted to stand up and refute, but Engineer Zhang stopped these people.

President Qin is right, we simply don't value objective laws.

"Looking at the F100 again, from its introduction in 1974 to 1979, in five years, the Americans discovered a large number of reliability problems in use. The F15 fighter jet even had to be grounded and became a hangar queen. Now Pratt \u0026 Whitney is also continuing to improve it. I heard that the thrust-to-weight ratio of the engine has been reduced to 7.4, focusing on improving reliability. What about us?"

Old Zou's gaze turned to the people below.

"Engineer Zhang, do you have the confidence to complete the development of an advanced third-generation engine in five years?"

Engineer Zhang stood up: "Aviation engines are the Mount Everest of industry. We must be fully prepared to fight a protracted war, but we cannot give up just because it is difficult to develop. Relying on single-rotor engines like the WS-10 cannot support our future skies! We must develop a brand new engine! President Qin, you can look down on us, but you cannot hinder our engine project from being initiated."

"When did I say I was hindering it? I firmly support you in developing the third-generation turbofan engine. This engine is not only related to the new J project, but also to our J-11."