Chapter 163 Let the J-8C try it out

Inside the hangar, an aircraft with a radome painted green has completed electrical testing and begun to hang bombs.

The J-8D was officially put into service at the beginning of this year.

Compared with the old model, the biggest improvement is the increased ability to receive fuel in the air. In other aspects, especially the electronic equipment, not many updates have been made.

It was only replaced with a new continuous wave irradiator to adapt to the domestic Pili 11 missile.

The pilot responsible for this target practice is Feng Lin, who has participated in almost all test missions since the introduction of the A-bomb. At this time, he was reporting on the pre-flight preparations to Yang Fenghata and Guo Liqiang.

"I still want to thank you comrades in the aerospace system for finally satisfying Lao Feng's wishes over the years."

A captain officer at the trial training base said with emotion.

"what?"

Chang Haonan looked at the other party in confusion.

There's something about this that makes it sound like someone else is going to die.

"Lao Feng will reach the age of grounding in two months. He has told us several years ago that he hopes to personally shoot a radar bomb produced by our country before the grounding."

As he spoke, the young captain took out a cigarette, put it under his nose and smelled:

"As a result, every year after hearing about the existence of such a thing, there was no sign of it. We all thought that he could not catch up. But...hey, you guys came at the right time."

Before Chang Haonan could say anything more to this guy who was obviously from Jinmen, the sound of the target shooting experiment getting ready to begin came from the loudspeaker.

"Plane No. 19 is about to start taxiing. Please ask irrelevant personnel to evacuate the runway area."

Flight safety is no small matter. Regardless of the people who design airplanes or missiles, they are all irrelevant personnel when they arrive at the airport.

Therefore, he followed the others and retreated to the command center of the tower.

For Chang Haonan, this was not the first time he watched a fighter jet take off from this position with the best view. The novelty at the beginning had long since disappeared, so his attention was quickly drawn to a piece of equipment that was considered huge in this era. CRT display attracted.

What is displayed above should be what the ground radar detects.

"Unit No. 19 has entered the test airspace, and the radar is activated normally!"

On the radio, Feng Lin's voice was unusually calm.

The tower commander was also reporting the situation to the test pilots in real time.

"The target drone has taken off and is expected to enter the target area in two minutes..."

"It is expected to enter the target area in one minute..."

"The target drone has entered the target area and can start searching for the target!"

This time, the radio was silent for a moment before Feng Lin's answer came:

"The radar failed to intercept the target, please reconfirm the target location."

One sentence made everyone in the tower feel excited.

The Thunderbolt 11 is semi-active radar guidance. If the radar cannot even intercept the target, there will be no need to conduct any weapons tests.

"The target is located directly in front of you at the 12 o'clock position, 17km away."

There was also some nervousness in the commander's voice.

Chang Haonan frowned slightly.

He probably already remembered what the problem was.

Logically speaking, it is a target test of a new missile after all, and according to the conventional process, a mature model should be used as the carrier aircraft.

After the missile is finalized, new aircraft can be used to attack it.

But the situation of J-8B/D is quite special.

Stuffed in their seemingly huge noses is still the ancient 208A fire control radar, and its detection capability is not much farther than the visual distance of a pilot on a clear day.

That's not all. Although the power of this radar is very low and the detection range is long, its power consumption is very high. The generator power of the old model turbojet 13 is only a pitiful 6kw, which is not even enough to provide power at the same time. Radar and improved continuous wave illuminators provide sufficient power...

In short, based on past or future experience, the maximum working distance of this combination after it goes to heaven is just over 10 kilometers.

Although it has barely reached the threshold of "beyond visual range", the actual combat significance is really not great.

The ultimate range of Thunderbolt 8 is 15 kilometers...

In short, it is a complete waste of the effective range of the Thunderbolt 11, which is about 40 kilometers. Even from an exam perspective, it is difficult to pass.

Because it takes several seconds from the radar interception of the target to the launch of the missile. If the interception distance is only a little more than 10 kilometers, there is a high probability that the missile will not meet the minimum shooting distance requirements in the assessment project by the time it is launched...

At this time, Feng Lin's report also verified Chang Haonan's guess:

"12km, radar capture target!"

Obviously, it's not that the radar is malfunctioning, it's just that its performance is simply too poor.

A few seconds later, Feng Lin's voice sounded again:

"Missiles ready!"

But at this time, the target distance displayed on the big screen was only 9km.

The tower commander had no choice but to order:

"The launch distance does not meet the test requirements, the launch procedure is aborted!"

Missile target testing is not a one-time deal. As long as the missile carrier aircraft and target aircraft have sufficient fuel, the test can be repeated multiple times.

However, until the target aircraft ran out of fuel and crashed, Feng Lin's No. 19 aircraft failed to lock on the target three times in a row.

……

Ten minutes later.

Aircraft No. 11 carrying two PL-19 missiles landed on the runway of Dingxin Airport and was towed back to the hangar by a tractor.

The staff of the 601 Institute and the Second Bureau of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering came here again, but the atmosphere at the scene became much more depressing than about an hour ago.

When Feng Lin climbed out of the cabin, even Chang Haonan standing far away could feel the regret in the old pilot's mood.

Under normal circumstances, it takes several months from the time a target test fails to when the problem is identified, solved, and then the next target test is conducted.

At that time, Feng Lin, who had reached his age, obviously no longer had the opportunity to participate in the experiment.

"Mr. Yang."

Chang Haonan squeezed through the crowd and came to Yang Fenghata, who was about to communicate with the pilot:

"The failure of this target test is obviously a problem with the aircraft. The output power of the continuous wave irradiator is not enough, which makes it impossible to intercept the target at a far enough distance."

"In this case, why not just let our J-8C prototype shoot this bomb?"

Feng Lin, who looked gloomy, naturally brightened up. If he just changed the plane and re-tested, it should not take a few days before he would have a chance to realize his wish.

Yang Fenghao just lowered his head and thought silently.

The people on both sides of the Mechanical and Electrical No. 607 and Institute looked nervous. After all, the problem was on their side.

"But if the new machine comes with new ammunition..."

The leader of the trial training base nearby was a little hesitant. The last time they equipped the new aircraft with new ammunition, they used the J-8B to test-fire the Aspider. As a result, all three shots missed the target, which has left a psychological shadow...

Chang Haonan also knew that his proposal seemed a bit out of tune, so he had to find a small blackboard from the side and repeated the analysis just now while writing.

Finally, he specially concluded:

"The J-8C is not only equipped with the 1471G radar with better performance, but more importantly, the turbojet 14 after our improvement can drive a generator with a power of up to 18kw, and the two generators have a total power supply capacity of 36kw, which is the current power supply capacity of the J-8C. Three times that of D!”

"Sufficient power supply is also the main reason why I think the J-8C is fully capable of serving as a target test carrier!"

These two sentences became the last two straws that affected the decision-making.

After Yang Fenghao thought for a moment, he nodded slowly:

"Even if the worst happens, it's just another remaining bullet. There's nothing to worry about!"

"Remaining bomb section" is an optimistic statement made by the trial training base regarding the result of the aircraft landing with bombs due to failure to complete the test.

"Let the J-8C have a try."