Chapter 1476 Hypersonic Missiles, Onboard

The air in the factory seemed to freeze for a moment.

Xing Muchun could understand the pressure Du Lin was facing.

For the navy, aircraft carriers are a field that it has never touched before, so every detail from 0 to 1 should be planned in advance.

But he knew the objective laws of scientific research better, so he could only smile bitterly:

"The waverider's tangential cone shape, engine parameters, and even many material details have not yet been finalized. Any weight and size data given now are only approximate values ​​and may be significantly different from the final product, not to mention the simulated ignition..."

Du Lin's expression was slightly disappointed, but he quickly regained his composure:

"I understand...technical issues really can't be forced."

Xing Muchun breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't help asking:

"Director Du, judging from the current conceptual design, the weight of the entire round must be at least 2 tons. Although the belly attachment point of the J-15 can withstand this weight, considering that the No. 16 ship is a ski-jump takeoff..."

For his generation of military workers, no matter what they specialize in, they all have more or less an obsession with "aircraft carriers."

Now that we're talking about this topic, I must take the opportunity to ask a few questions.

"Are you worried about the combat radius?"

Du Lin took over the conversation.

"Yes."

Xing Muchun nodded, then felt a little embarrassed:

"Of course, I'm not an expert in aviation systems, but carrying such a heavy missile will definitely affect the aircraft's fuel capacity, even if we use a heavy-load takeoff point. After accelerating to Mach 1.5 and throwing it, I'm afraid we will have to return immediately... Not only will the combat radius be worrying, but it will also seriously affect the deck scheduling efficiency."

He was outspoken.

"In that case, from a tactical point of view, perhaps it would be more reasonable to let the escorting destroyer launch the attack, and let the aircraft carrier only launch fighter jets or early warning helicopters for relay guidance?"

The design of the air-breathing hypersonic missile took into account the layout of the two-way high-throughput data link, which can completely overcome the influence of blackouts and smoothly achieve A-shooting and B-guiding.

"General Xing has considered everything very thoroughly...Ship 16 does have some deficiencies in its combat capability in this regard."

A smile appeared on Du Lin's lips at this moment:

"But I can reveal one thing. The development progress of the electromagnetic catapult is far ahead of expectations. Therefore, the first domestically-produced aircraft carrier in the future will not be a simple replica of the No. 16 ship, but will be a limited enlargement of the 1143.6 ship and equipped with an electromagnetic catapult and arresting system."

This news made Xing Muchun's eyes light up:

"So, the J-15 will also have a catapult model?"

"Of course..." Du Lin confirmed, "In other words, considering that the interval between the launch of these two ships should not be very long, the design work of the J-15 can only be combined into one, and the basic model is the catapult model... This is also the main reason why we are in a hurry to compile and use the load spectrum..."

Just as the atmosphere of the conversation eased, the outer door of the room was suddenly opened.

The two "beep" sounds when unlocking attracted almost everyone's attention.

A familiar young figure appeared at the door. He was wearing a simple shirt and trousers under his lab uniform. His hair was a little messy, but his eyes were bright.

It is Academician Chang Haonan who should be in seclusion.

This somewhat sudden change made everyone present stunned for a moment.

"Academician Chang?" Xing Muchun went forward in surprise.

He originally wanted to ask you why you suddenly came out, but he hesitated for a moment because he was concerned about the presence of outsiders.

As a result, they were preempted.

Du Lin strode towards Chang Haonan and extended his hand enthusiastically:

"Academician Chang, I have long heard of your name! I didn't expect to see you today."

Chang Haonan shook hands with him and said with a smile:

"Director Du, I'm sorry to interrupt your inspection. I just came out of the laboratory and heard that the navy leader was here, so I rushed over to take a look."

This scene was not in Du Lin's itinerary at all, but he still reacted instinctively in a split second:

"It's not an inspection... I'm here to learn."

However, Chang Haonan directly pointed out his purpose:

"Director Du, are you here to discuss the issue of carrier-based aircraft adaptation?"

"This..." Du Lin was slightly surprised, and after a moment he sneered awkwardly, "Academician Chang is well-informed."

"I guessed." Chang Haonan said with a smile, "The Navy is most concerned about the J-15's combat effectiveness... Let's find a place to discuss it in detail."

He said he was going to find a place to talk, but in fact, soon after he walked out of the door, Du Lin could no longer hold back his excitement.

"Academician Chang has made great contributions to the development of our navy's equipment... The WS-10H should also be your work?"

Chang Haonan waved his hand modestly:

"I haven't been involved in the Navy model, but I did have some work on the basic model back then."

"That's because you have a good foundation." Du Lin became excited.

Although it was indeed a compliment at the beginning, now it is definitely the true feelings: "In the simulation test in Xingcheng, the power response speed of the WS-10H is significantly faster, so the success rate of go-around after the arrest failure is 31 percentage points higher than that of the control group AL3F-23."

As the leader of the Navy Equipment Department, he couldn't stop talking about the development of carrier-based aircraft:

"The only thing left to do now is the offshore mooring test. In addition, the previous performance in the simulated salt spray environment was also excellent. Because the compressor has relatively few stages, the failure interval and maintenance time are far beyond the acceptance standard..."

"..."

Then, the topic naturally turned to the aircraft carrier itself.

"We have tentatively planned the first domestically built aircraft carrier to be 8 tons, slightly larger than the No. 16 ship, with 2-3 electromagnetic catapults, and capable of carrying fixed-wing early warning aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft... Only the power system is still under debate - whether to continue using steam turbines or to install four 4-megawatt high-power ship-use gas turbines."

"Those who support steam turbines believe that they can better transition to future nuclear power, while those who support gas turbines believe that under the technical framework of electromagnetic catapult and electromagnetic arresting, gas turbines can fully meet the requirements and can significantly reduce the size of the power cabin... By the way, Academician Chang, I would like to hear your opinion on this matter."

Chang Haonan originally planned to just be a listener. After all, he had not really been involved in the aircraft carrier issue. But he did not expect that he would still have the opportunity to express his opinion.

However, he did not refuse:

"If we decide to go the route of integrated power systems, the form of power is not the key... The power package of an all-electric ship is essentially a power station, which is completely different from the traditional heavy oil boiler-steam turbine combination design concept and may not have any obvious inheritance relationship."

At this point, he suddenly realized that the 35NW gas turbine was developed by his own company. This seemed a bit like a naked defense of his own shortcomings, so he symbolically made up for it:

"Of course, if you don't want to make major adjustments to the overall ship layout, then traditional steam turbines are also acceptable."

"Academician Chang is also optimistic about all-electric propulsion?" Du Lin seemed very interested. "There are indeed voices like this within the Navy, but they are worried that the technological gap is too large, especially after the incident with the Courageous."

"If they dare to use electromagnetic catapults, what's the big leap for all-electric propulsion?" Chang Haonan said with a smile, "Especially for aircraft carriers, it can free the power compartment design from the shackles of gear transmission mechanisms and realize a ship island layout similar to nuclear power..."

"..."

The conversation continued until everyone entered the conference room and finally came to an end.

And Xing Muchun finally got the chance to ask the question he had wanted to know:

"Academician Chang, why are you here today... What help do you need with the calculation process?"

Chang Haonan was still thinking about the aircraft carrier. When he was suddenly asked this question, he even seemed a little confused.

It took me a second to react.

"No..." He shook his head, "I've already calculated the results."

Du Lin & Xing Muchun:

"what?"

Especially the latter, who had already been prepared to slow down the progress by 3-4 months.

It didn't even last three weeks.

"The molecular structure of the new fuel has been optimized, and the chemical heat sink is much more optimistic than I thought." Chang Haonan said calmly but confidently, "In fact, I am planning to restart the wind tunnel test."

"That is to say, Lingxiao-1 can be retested?" Xing Muchun could not hide his excitement.

"Then let's..."

Du Lin also leaned forward a little.

Chang Haonan signaled the two to stay calm for a while, then lowered his head and thought for a moment:

"Within two months, we will provide a simulated warhead with a weight and size error of no more than 5% from the final product... If you are willing to wait a little longer, we can also insert a simulated propulsion system with only a sub-combustion working mode into it, just as if we were doing an actual air start test in advance."