Chapter 745 About the planning of carrier-based aircraft

Chang Haonan finally decided to put aside the matter of finding bargaining chips with Türkiye.

After all, the Torch Group alone has now spread its business to at least a dozen countries in Europe and Asia. There are dozens of directly related patent authorizations and cooperation projects. If we consider the existence of There are countless indirect contacts. It would definitely be very inefficient if he was left alone to think about it.

It's better to ask Song Jingming to go to the archives and conduct a systematic inventory after returning.

If you can find it, you can use it directly during negotiations.

And if not, you need to think about it and see if you can play a hand of void cards.

After all, China's current national strength is stronger than that of the previous generation, and its relationship with the European Union is also closer.

In the late 90s, Turkey generally had a dog-licking mentality when it came to the EU.

So this latter point is important.

Naturally, Ding Gaoheng didn't know that Chang Haonan was already thinking about things a few months later. He just took off his coat and hung it on the hanger, then sat back on the office chair and continued:

"An aircraft carrier is not only a big ship. If it wants to exert its combat effectiveness, its core is carrier-based aircraft."

"Our navy is developing relatively slowly. Even for carrier-based helicopters, the experience in using them is very weak. Not all destroyer detachments are even capable of operating them, let alone fixed-wing carrier-based aircraft. The use, maintenance, and scheduling are all brand new. subject.”

"So, the current meaning is to make two preparations. If the domestic model can catch up with the transformation progress of the aircraft carrier itself, then the domestic model will be used. If not, then we can also consider importing a batch first so that the troops can practice relevant subjects. ”

Having said this, he paused for a moment, straightened his upper body and looked at Chang Haonan on the sofa:

"Xiao Chang, do you think, given our current situation, are the conditions ripe for independently developing carrier-based aircraft?"

Chang Haonan has limited knowledge about shipbuilding and the navy, but when it comes to carrier-based aircraft, he is not sleepy:

"Mature, of course mature!"

"Imported carrier-based aircraft are nothing more than the Russian Su-33, and now on our own side, the first prototype of the J-11B has begun production, and the turbofan 10 has also entered the final stage of dual-engine installation testing. It can be said that , the two major obstacles that restrict our country's third-generation fighter jets from achieving complete autonomy, structure and power, can be solved in just one step. As long as these two problems are solved, at least in terms of the most basic flight safety, there will be no major problems. ”

"As for combat effectiveness, the Su-33 is just a standard third-generation aircraft with the technical level of the late 80s. The airborne equipment is not much different from the Su-27SK we imported before. The Russian Kuznetsov cannot leave port for a few days throughout the year. It is basically There is no motivation to upgrade according to Su-27SM standards, so it is impossible to compare with the J-11B after major modifications. "

Hearing Chang Haonan's affirmative answer, Ding Gaoheng showed a satisfied look:

"However, there are still some differences between carrier-based aircraft and land-based aircraft, and more importantly, since our military has never been exposed to carrier-based aircraft in the past, users are not very clear about the specific differences. In this way, In terms of progress..."

While he was talking, he took out a notebook from the drawer next to him, opened it, and looked like he was preparing to record it.

Obviously, this question was not what Ding Gaoheng wanted to ask Chang Haonan, but what the former was prepared to use to respond to inquiries from higher-level leaders.

In fact, this is a very real concern.

For a brand-new subject like carrier-based fixed-wing aircraft, the biggest trouble lies not in how the aviation industry system solves the problem, but in the fact that the navy does not have an aircraft carrier or a carrier-based aircraft in hand, how does it deal with the entire shipboard aviation operation? I have no idea at all and have no idea what the problem might be.

And if you forcefully launch an immature model, and later find so many problems during use that it needs to be rebuilt, more resources will be consumed.

In this regard, even a country like the United States, which has operated aircraft carriers since before World War II, entered the jet age and iterated on five levels of aircraft carriers from Midway to Nimitz, as well as four generations of carrier-based aircraft from F9F to F18. , only then has a relatively stable and mature design and usage specification been formed.

In this process, countless carrier-based aircraft were dropped and pilots were lost.

The Chinese Navy has neither the resources nor the time to waste like this.

This is why in the original timeline, in addition to the upgrade of the airborne weapon system, the technical status of the initial version of the J-15 was closer to the T10K-3 prototype. After entering mass production, it gradually began to be upgraded to later domestic models in batches. Get closer.

By the time the two-seater model of the J-15S was introduced, it was closer to the J-16 in terms of pedigree (the Su-33 does not have a tandem two-seater model).

However, this was all in the past.

Now, Chang Haonan naturally already has plans:

"If what is towed back is a complete aircraft carrier that can be put into use immediately, then it is indeed impossible to come up with a highly complete carrier-based aircraft in a few months, but I heard Old Wu talking about it years ago Looking at the situation of the Varyag, the ship is currently only 60% complete, and the boilers and steam turbines inside have been dismantled, even if all the technicians and technical data from the Nikolaev Shipyard are brought over , it will be difficult to complete within three to five years.”

His tone was very determined. He picked up the cup and took a sip of water before continuing:

"As for the problem of the Navy's lack of operational experience, on the one hand, I asked Lao Wu to pay close attention to the situation at the Nitka aircraft carrier training base. He has already established a relationship with the managers at Ermao, although the fixed facilities cannot be moved. , but the design drawings and materials can be bought back, and the Ermao Navy only has a few small ships, so there is no room for naval aviation. The instructors in the base can also be introduced to the country through the friendship program to help us with training. "

"On the other hand, when I helped Guihang Group design the JJ-9, I considered the possibility of being put on a ship, so I specially left enough strength margin for the rear fuselage and landing gear, so that it can be used within a certain period of time. Simulating shipboard dispatching operations to a certain extent allows the Navy to have a general concept of carrier-based aircraft operations. After discovering problems through land-based simulations, it can then be optimized to the official carrier-based aircraft model. "

"With this two-pronged approach, the three to five years it takes to build warships...is enough to iterate several versions of technology verification aircraft."

"The other is my field, aviation engines. The aircraft engines of carrier-based aircraft need to improve their salt spray resistance. For this, I only need to apply new coatings on the fan and compressor blades. The ion plating that was replaced before The production line has been put into production, so there is not much of a problem in this regard. Furthermore, when the ship is touched and go-around, there may be an emergency thrust larger than the afterburner thrust. This requires modifying the parameters of the afterburner... …”

"..."

"Now that you say that, I'm relieved."

Ding Gaoheng nodded while writing furiously.

"Actually, I would say that it would be best to have a medium-sized fighter equipped with dual thrusters as a carrier-based aircraft, like the MiG 29K and F18. However, our financial resources are still very thin after all, and we really cannot afford to serve three. The third-generation fighter jets of this model are in service at the same time, so we can only wait until the fourth-generation fighter jets are developed in the future..."

Chang Haonan's plan obviously does not stop at the immediate few years.

"You mean... the medium-sized ones have a better chance?"

Ding Gaoheng raised his head curiously.

"That's true for carrier-based aircraft."

Chang Haonan explained:

"For land-based aircraft, because the airport's dispatch space can be considered to be close to infinite, so when the technical levels are similar, it is natural that the comprehensive performance of heavy-duty aircraft is stronger and more advantageous."

"However, aircraft carriers are very precious in terms of land, both in the hangar and on the deck. Although the performance of heavy-duty aircraft is better after takeoff, the area occupied during the maintenance process is too large, which will cause trouble for scheduling and is not conducive to improving the dispatch rate. Therefore, theoretically Generally speaking, for aircraft carriers of different sizes, there will be corresponding optimal solutions for the size of carrier-based aircraft.”

"From this perspective, it is best to determine the basic design of the aircraft carrier and then specially develop the corresponding model of carrier-based aircraft to achieve the best matching effect between ships and aircraft. However, this is definitely not the focus of our current consideration. That’s it…”

Ding Gaoheng also followed Chang Haonan's answer and completed the record, then closed the notebook and lightly dusted the cover:

"Old General Liu would be very happy if he saw this plan. Before he retired from his leadership position, the last document he signed was related to the development of naval aviation..."

Mr. Liu is known as the "Father of China's aircraft carrier" and has made outstanding contributions to the modernization of the navy, including aircraft carriers.

It's a pity that in his previous life, he didn't get to see the day when China's first aircraft carrier was commissioned.

But based on the current timetable, that should be more than enough.

Not to mention seeing it, maybe you can take advantage of the old man's good health to follow him out to sea...

"Planning is just a drawing after all. When Mr. Liu sees our country's aircraft carrier, he will definitely be happier..."

Chang Haonan also replied with a smile on his face.