Chapter 1690 Throw the hat of backwardness to the other side of the Pacific Ocean!

Two months later, it was late autumn.

Shengjing Aircraft Manufacturing Plant.

Led by several technicians, more than 20 middle and senior military officers dressed in white or sky blue spring and autumn uniforms walked along the personnel passage and entered the No. 0 assembly workshop.

Under the high dome, more than 15 J-11B and J-C fighter jets are arranged on both sides like a steel guard of honor. Their yellow or silver-gray bodies reflect a terrifying luster under high-power lighting.

Although they are still in different stages of final assembly, it won't be long before they roll off the production line, adding nearly a brigade of combat power to the Chinese Air Force.

However, at this moment, these main fighter planes were quickly passed by like background boards.

Only Air Force Chief of Staff Zheng Liangqun muttered to himself:

"Based on the current production efficiency, this factory will probably be insufficient soon..."

In fact, Shengfei Group originally had three workshops for final assembly, but with the development of the times, the other two were diverted to the production of civil aircraft parts. Only the No. 0 factory building, which has undergone many upgrades and expansions and currently occupies the largest area, remains.

However, this idea did not stay in Zheng Liangqun's mind for long.

Because his eyes, and those of everyone else, were focused on the deepest part of the workshop, near the huge hangar door.

There, an aircraft covered in deep dark blue paint and without any visible identification marks, stood quietly at a dedicated assembly station.

Its bizarre outline forms a sharp contrast with the angular fourth-generation and a half fighter jets around it - the smooth contour lines seem to be carved out of a whole piece of dark gem, completely abandoning the traditional vertical tail and horizontal tail, presenting a dreamy futuristic sense.

This is the crystallization of Project No. 50, the No. 01 prototype of the sixth-generation fighter "J-".

That’s right, it’s a prototype, not a technology verification machine like the original No. 2001.

In fact, the entire Project 50 did not have a complete technology verification aircraft, but directly entered the prototype development stage.

The reason is very simple:

Although there has never been such an aircraft in the world before, and no other country has even put forward a clear concept of a "sixth-generation aircraft", most of the new technologies used in the J-50 have been directly or indirectly verified through other projects.

For example, the appearance of this highly integrated wing and body, with no tail at all, which is a combination of a flying wing configuration and a waverider configuration, was developed from the "Zou Yu" hypersonic verification aircraft that made its maiden flight at the end of last year.

Compared with the J-11/15 fighter jets behind it, the J-50's physical size, especially the projected area of ​​its fuselage, is significantly smaller.

This is of course a change made to adapt to aircraft carrier operations.

However, at this moment, in the eyes of this group of soldiers who are well aware of its weight, the dark blue Phantom No. 50001 appears extremely tall.

It even gives people a subtle sense of oppression.

"Commendations, this is the prototype No. 50001 that will be carrying out its maiden flight mission."

Lu Chunyan, chief engineer of Project No. 50, took two steps forward and introduced in a solemn tone.

His dark blue work clothes almost blend in with the fighter plane's paint job:

"In fact, the aircraft had already completed all necessary pre-delivery inspections, but thanks to the fact that the development of its accompanying WS-25 dual-cycle engine was progressing far ahead of expectations, we decisively decided to replace it with a new engine and re-conducted ground testing, which only added about an extra month and a half."

Everyone present could hear the pride in his words.

Although the development of the WS-25 had nothing to do with him, he himself only learned about the breakthrough of the WS-25 two months ago.

But he still contributed a lot to the subsequent Feifa adaptation work.

While speaking, Lu Chunyan had already come to the side of Unit 50001 and raised his hand to point upwards.

And Zheng Liangqun's actions were even faster.

Almost at the same time Lu Chunyan opened his mouth, he strode past the crowd and came straight to the rear of the plane. His eyes immediately locked onto the two tail nozzles with serrated convergent adjustment blades.

On the edge of the light blue high-temperature alloy inner wall, subtle traces left by high-temperature burning and airflow scouring are clearly visible - this is proof that the engine has undergone rigorous ground bench testing.

After staring for a long time, he slowly spoke:

"Boss Lu, does this... mean it's already a fully functional prototype?"

There was still a hint of disbelief in his voice.

Lu Chunyan replied cautiously:

"Technically speaking, I cannot give a final conclusion on 'full status' without flight test verification... But what is clear is that all subsystems required by the design, including the two WS-25 engines you see, have been installed and debugged as designed, and our entire project team is also working towards the goal of achieving the first flight in a complete state."

His answer was flawless, but everyone could hear that it basically confirmed what Zheng Liangqun had just said.

The latter took a deep breath, and the air in the workshop filled with metallic smell seemed to become heavier.

As an old pilot who started his flying career with the J-6 and personally flew the first three generations of fighter jets, and as an old commander who really thought about how to use the J-8 to fight against the F-22.

Thousands of emotions filled my chest like a tide.

The scenes of more than 20 years of forbearance, catching up, and striving to catch up seemed to flash before my eyes.

But the words on the tip of my tongue were hard to come out.

In the end, it only turned into a heavy word bursting out from the depths of my chest:

"it is good!"

There was also a burst of applause from the side.

After a while, Zheng Liangqun calmed down and continued to ask:

"So, what is its flight envelope...and stealth performance?"

At this moment, a loud voice suddenly interrupted:

"Hey hey hey, Lao Zheng!"

Vice Admiral Lu Junhai, Chief of Naval Staff, stepped forward and half-jokingly extended his hand to stop them. "This Project 50 was originally funded and maintained by our navy. Even if you want to ask questions, at least I, the 'family member', should speak first, right?"

Zheng Liangqun was taken aback by this sudden "attack" and then shook his head helplessly: "Old Lu, your carrier-based aviation force is only the size of three brigades at most. Even if you count the two new aircraft carriers, Jiangnan and Lianhai, there are only five brigades at most... With Shengfei's huge production capacity, your navy alone can't feed them all!"

Lu Junhai rolled his eyes rudely, with an expression that said, "Are you kidding a three-year-old?"

He immediately brought up the past:

"Come on, that's what your Air Force said when they wanted to purchase the J-7 JH-. But then they got greedy and devoured the entire Pulse production line in Gaojing until there was nothing left..."

Lu Junhai was a J-7 pilot. When he talked about this incident that happened nearly years ago, although he was mostly joking, it was obvious that he had a lot of resentment.

The smile on Zheng Liangqun's face froze for a moment, obviously his soft spot had been touched. He could only cough twice awkwardly as a sign of agreement.

Then I wanted to change the subject as usual.

But Lu Junhai continued, "Besides, doesn't Chengdu have a sixth-generation aircraft project? It's a heavy aircraft tailored specifically for your Air Force... Besides, you have the J-20 as a backup, so there's no need to rush... Unlike us, we don't even have enough of the J-15B..."

Faced with Lu Junhai's presentation of facts and reasoning, Zheng Liangqun was completely defeated.

He smiled bitterly, spread his hands, stepped back slightly, and made a "please" gesture:

"Okay, okay, Old Lu, you're the boss today, you ask first, you ask first!"

Lu Junhai then hummed with satisfaction, adjusted the collar of his navy uniform rather deliberately, and turned to Lu Chunyan.

But the question he asked was exactly the same as Zheng Liangqun's previous one:

"Boss Lu, what are the flight performance and stealth capabilities of this aircraft?"

This dramatic scene made several young technical managers nearby almost burst out laughing.

The corners of Lu Chunyan's mouth twitched slightly, but he managed to suppress his smile and resume his professional tone.

"Thanks to the successful installation and powerful performance of the WS-25 engine, the J-50 will have three core flight modes that can be seamlessly switched, which is a key manifestation of its cross-generational advantage."

He walked under the wing and virtually ran his fingers across the smooth surface of the aircraft:

"The first is Asia Cruise mode, where the engines operate at a medium bypass ratio and the various auxiliary control surfaces on the wing trailing edge are fully deployed, providing optimal low-speed maneuverability and maximum lift efficiency. Its core advantage lies in its exceptional fuel economy."

"Based on calculations based on ground test bench and wind tunnel data, under the same mission profile and payload conditions, its cruise fuel consumption is only about 20% of that of the J-50. This makes it the optimal choice for long-duration theater patrols, low-intensity confrontations, or ferry missions, including providing ample energy reserves for possible low-speed combat."

He paused, his eyes sweeping over the focused expressions of the generals:

"The second is supercruise mode, where the engines are switched to a low bypass ratio and all auxiliary control surfaces are fully retracted, achieving the cleanest aerodynamic configuration possible. At this point, the aircraft can maintain supersonic cruise speeds exceeding Mach 1.6 for extended periods at military thrust (without afterburner). Its core advantage lies in its unparalleled supersonic maneuverability and situational awareness/attack capabilities."

"Within the Mach 1.4 to 2.2 speed range, it will be the absolute dominant force, whether leveraging its energy advantage for high-speed raids, rapidly occupying positions, or performing high-G maneuvers at supersonic speeds to evade or seize launch positions. This is also the primary mode for responding to high-intensity air combat, penetrating advanced air defense systems, and executing rapid interception missions."

Finally, he pointed his finger at the pair of jagged nozzles at the tail:

"The third mode is high-speed mode, where the engine enters a pure turbojet state, maintaining a speed of around Mach 2.4 for a relatively long time. This is used to reach specific airspace in a timely manner or meet the launch requirements of certain specific weapons..."

"Of course, aircraft cannot violate the laws of physics. The cost of this mode is that the available overload and flexibility will be correspondingly reduced, but it will not affect the requirements of the two missions mentioned above..."