Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

The next day, the north wind howled. Elder Liu and the others stood outside the deck of the Leap, facing the cold wind and watching the plane take off.

“Today there is wind, so we will directly use a take-off weight of 27 tons and use a short take-off method. According to our calculations, we can guarantee a safe take-off even at 28 tons,” Zhao Guodong introduced to Elder Liu.

“Well, I really didn’t expect that with such a platform, the take-off distance of our plane could be reduced by a large margin. This is definitely our original creation.”

After Elder Liu finished speaking, he glanced at Qin Yang: “President Qin, you have too many whimsical ideas in your mind. You must give our navy more advice.”

“Yes, yes.” Qin Yang nodded, knowing that Elder Liu was paving the way for the next conversation.

“Report, flight preparations are complete, request permission to take off, test pilot Lei Qiang!” Lei Zi and his radar officer came together, carrying their helmets, their faces serious.

“You can take off, I wish you a triumphant return.”

Click! The accompanying reporter pressed the shutter, capturing the wonderful moment of the take-off. The J-11 fighter jet spread its wings and flew into the sky like an eagle, with the ski-jump ramp behind it, looking very spectacular.

“Great, this take-off method solves our big problem!” Elder Liu said, “We are one step closer to the aircraft carrier!”

Qin Yang was a little curious: “Is the navy going to officially start building an aircraft carrier?”

This is not right. In the 1980s, military spending was tight, the country was going to cut troops, develop the economy, and the army had to endure. There was no extra money to build an aircraft carrier at all.

Not to mention building a brand new aircraft carrier, even maintaining the navy’s daily expenses was not easy. The construction of the navy’s warships was even slower. The two 052s were not built until the 1990s. An aircraft carrier? Is it possible?

“Although we cannot build it now, we will first do a good job of technical reserves, and we can start construction at any time in the future.” Elder Liu said: “We have a vast sea area, and we must also have a strong navy!”

“Well, when the technical reserves are almost ready and the country is rich and strong, there will be funds to start construction.” Qin Yang nodded.

“Yes, that’s what we think too.” Elder Liu said: “The navy needs too many technical reserves. First, let’s talk about the power system. Do you have any ideas?”

“Elder Liu, shall we go inside and talk? It’s windy outside.”

Qin Yang was not afraid, mainly because he was worried about Elder Liu’s health. Elder Liu smiled: “Don’t worry, let’s go in together when the plane comes down. Tell me about it first.”

“For aircraft carriers, nuclear power is the best.” Qin Yang said: “After all, aircraft carriers have to operate a large number of carrier-based aircraft. Each take-off and landing of these carrier-based aircraft requires several tons of fuel. Aircraft carriers need thousands of tons of fuel tanks to store aviation fuel. If it is nuclear power, there is no need for a special fuel tank to store fuel for naval engines. This can not only reduce the amount of fuel carried, but also reduce the number of replenishments, which is of great help in maintaining continuous combat capabilities.”

Why are the US Navy’s aircraft carriers all nuclear-powered? Isn’t it because it saves fuel and eliminates the need to replenish naval fuel, which saves a lot of trouble.

“Are you saying that we should build a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier?”

“Of course not, I’m just saying that a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is the best. For us, we have to base it on the actual situation. We don’t have a special nuclear power system for aircraft carriers, and it’s not suitable to use a nuclear reactor from a nuclear submarine. So, we can only burn boilers for now.”

The power system required for an aircraft carrier is very powerful. The nuclear submarine’s is simply not good. The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle uses a nuclear reactor from a nuclear submarine, which results in the Charles de Gaulle only being able to run at a maximum speed of 25 knots, becoming a shame for nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.

The nuclear reactor of a nuclear submarine only needs more than 100 megawatts, while the nuclear reactor of an aircraft carrier needs to be above 500 megawatts. If the nuclear reactor of a nuclear submarine is directly transplanted, then the number has to be stacked, and when the number is large, the complexity of the system will greatly increase, and the possibility of failure will also increase.

Developing a special nuclear reactor also requires a huge investment, which is definitely not cost-effective given the current national situation.

“Yes, we can only burn boilers.” Elder Liu nodded: “The boiler technology required for aircraft carriers is also very advanced.”

The American Kitty Hawk burns boilers and can generate 100 tons of high-temperature and high-pressure steam per hour. What about the domestic ones? The gap is very large.

“We also have advanced boilers in China. As long as we improve the boilers on our 051 destroyers, we can meet the needs of aircraft carriers.” Qin Yang said: “We must believe in our own strength. We are not bad at all in terms of building boilers.”

The domestic 051 destroyer uses the TB-8 boiler. The performance of this boiler is quite powerful. The steam turbine can burst out 36,000 horsepower. The 051 destroyer is equipped with two boilers, so it has 72,000 horsepower. Although the design speed of this destroyer is 32 knots, it can often reach more than 35 knots during normal navigation, especially the ones produced in Shanghai. Because the precision is high enough, it can even reach 38 knots.

The 051 is also known as a large high-speed missile boat, which is well deserved.

The TB-12 boiler used on the old Russian aircraft carrier is actually an improvement based on the TB-8, so if we also improve it, we should be able to use it.

The power of the aircraft carrier is not a big problem.

Elder Liu nodded: “Okay, then let’s issue instructions to let our boiler factory develop more advanced boilers. This problem can be considered solved. Next, let’s talk about the aircraft carrier deck.”

The aircraft carrier deck has to withstand harsh environments. The usual sun, wind, and rain are okay, but the key is the take-off and landing of carrier-based aircraft. Every time a carrier-based aircraft lands, it crashes down. If the aircraft carrier deck does not have sufficient bearing capacity, it will be damaged.

So, can the aircraft carrier deck be made thicker to increase strength?

Of course not. After the aircraft carrier deck is thicker, the weight of the entire deck will increase, and the aircraft carrier will be top-heavy. In fact, the aircraft carrier deck is only 80 millimeters thick. If you want to withstand the impact, you have to rely on its own yield strength to be high enough.

In addition to these, there is also a requirement, that is, it must be cheap. After all, it is not making cannons, and it can extravagantly use electroslag remelting steel. The deck requires hundreds of tons or even thousands of tons of steel, which is too expensive to afford.

Each country has its own unique skills. The Americans use HY-100, the old Russians use AK series nickel alloy steel, what about us?

At this moment, the roar of the engine sounded. The J-11 fighter jet had already circled in the air and landed on the runway. Since it was just testing take-off and landing, Lei Zi did not prepare, so he did not give Elder Liu a flight performance. Just a ski-jump take-off was already dazzling enough.