Chapter 949: The White Swan Returns to the East

Until everyone got off the plane, Chang Haonan had not come up with a more reasonable solution than the one in his previous life.

The main reason is that the combination of D30KP2+H-6 is really too cheap.

Whether it is developing a new airframe alone or developing a new medium bypass ratio turbofan engine alone, it is a serious waste in comparison...

Ultimately, he decided not to interfere in matters that were not his responsibility.

Leave the problem to the Aviation Industry Corporation next door.

If they think that engines are consumables and it is safer to build them themselves, then it is not impossible for them to localize the D30KP2.

By the way, it can also provide training for the research institutes with weak technology below.

If they feel that it is not worth setting up a special project for a hundred engines, Chang Haonan is happy to concentrate resources on more important models.

Just think of it as supporting our northern neighbor to resist military pressure from NATO...

Just as they were thinking this, two air force officers with 24-cent rank on their shoulders came up to the crowd.

The two were Yan Kun, the person in charge of the Lintong station, and Shou Guofu, the political commissar of the 108th Air Regiment.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the Air Force had not yet undergone reform, and the aviation units and ground support units were clearly separated in terms of organization.

Under normal circumstances, the aviation corps and the air stations are both regiment-level units.

But for well-known reasons, they were all promoted to deputy division commanders here.

As for the leader of the 108th Regiment...

Of course, he was still on the way back from the plane.

After a brief situation report, everyone, led by Yan Kun and Shou Guofu, came to the area covered with the hangar.

Although he had already roughly estimated the size of these four things when he was on the plane just now.

But now that he was actually standing on the ground and observing, he still felt a bit of oppression.

In fact, if we only talk about volume, the sizes of these hangars are not particularly outrageous.

After all, even the main building of the Torch Laboratory has a horizontal span of about 60 meters.

It’s just that the hangar is transparent on all sides, so the visual effect is much more exaggerated.

Moreover, it was only then that Chang Haonan discovered that two of them were actually not completed.

It can be seen that the relevant preparatory work was indeed carried out in a hurry.

"We were planning to build a reinforced hangar for each of the four aircraft, just like the B52 at Tyndall Air Force Base."

Qiao Chenqing sat on the viewing platform and said to Chang Haonan next to him:

"But... we later found out that time was too tight. It was simply impossible to build four hangars in two months."

He smiled helplessly:

"Moreover, it is very difficult to build a super-large reinforced hangar. Our country currently has no experience in this area. In addition, the Tu-160 itself does not have a stealth layer and is relatively sturdy. Therefore, we temporarily built four hangars to at least prevent wind and rain..."

Chang Haonan found it difficult to comment for a moment.

In fact, even the wealthy US military leaves non-stealth bombers such as B1B and B52 out in the open in most cases.

After all, strategic bombers are usually parked in the rear. If such a place is bombed, it is likely to be aimed at the nuclear warhead, so the presence or absence of a hangar will not have much impact.

Moreover, the aircraft's exterior components are actually designed to withstand rain and snow, so they are not as delicate as outsiders imagine.

As for stealth aircraft, it is because the stealth coating is too delicate and they usually have to stay in a place with constant temperature and humidity, so they have no choice but to have a closed environment.

However, as the head of the Air Force, Qiao Chenqing should naturally be well aware of these things.

Therefore, this behavior can only be explained as...

It's like the care a child gets after getting a new toy.

Fortunately, they are just a few tin sheds and don’t cost much money.

Even if we put the issue of the aircraft aside, at least we can make the working environment of the ground crew more comfortable.

……

As Chang Haonan was daydreaming, the sun moved westward and finally hung not far above the horizon.

In fact, if we had flown directly back to China from Ermao, we should have arrived a few hours earlier.

But the Tu-160 is a strategic bomber after all, and many countries are unwilling to allow such a four-plane formation to pass through their airspace.

From China's perspective, if you choose to fly directly, many areas in between are not safe.

The disintegration of the Soviet Union left behind a large number of medium- and long-range field air defense systems, and no one knew where a missile launcher was hidden in a mountain valley.

Therefore, the team that picked us up at the airport chose to take a relatively safer route.

Just when everyone was getting a little sleepy from waiting, a refreshing voice finally came from the intercom that had been placed on the table:

"All units, attention, direction 310, distance 330km, four large targets, diamond formation, altitude 9000, speed 950..."

Those Tu-160s still retain the technical status of the Soviet Air Force era, so naturally they cannot have the friend-or-foe identification system of China.

Even if there is, IFF will not be able to work at this distance.

Therefore, the radar can only distinguish the approximate attributes of the target.

Of course, at this juncture, a general attribute is enough.

Everybody knows what that will be.

However, for such a big event, it is certainly not only the Air Force personnel who sit in the viewing stand.

"Four targets?"

A leader in casual clothes approached Qiao Chenqing with some doubts:

"Didn't you just say that after entering our country's airspace, there will be fighter jets accompanying and escorting you throughout the journey?"

"Oh... because the early warning radars that can see this far are all UHF band, and their accuracy is relatively poor."

The latter replied:

"So, either the RCS of the tactical aircraft is too small to be detected, or the small target's echo is simply mixed into the large target."

"How can it still be like this?"

The person who asked the question just now looked shocked and was obviously a complete layman in technology.

"of course can."

Another officer nearby replied:

"In fact, a typical tactic of the Western air forces is to hide tactical aircraft performing reconnaissance or bombing missions near normal flying passenger planes, so as to make the defenders afraid to act rashly."

"Many incidents of accidental shooting down of passenger planes happened in this way, but it is difficult to obtain evidence."

"..."

For several aircraft flying close to the speed of sound, a distance of more than 300 kilometers does not take too long.

Therefore, Chang Haonan soon saw through the telescope several brown-yellow smoke streaks extending from the northwest.

The NK32 engine uses nitrogen-containing T-8B aviation fuel. When the aircraft flies at low or ultra-low altitudes, a small amount of nitric oxide will be ejected from the tail nozzle due to rich combustion, and then quickly oxidized into nitrogen dioxide.

It manifests itself as a wisp of yellow smoke.

And just a few seconds later, a large white airplane with an exaggerated wingspan appeared in his sight through the thin clouds.

Next, the second and third...

"!!!"

At this moment, Chang Haonan's breathing almost stagnated.

Although these aircraft were not designed and manufactured by him.

But it was through his hands that it came to China.

In fact, this was the first time that Chang Haonan had seen this model in person in his two lifetimes.

It was not until this time that he finally intuitively understood why the designer called it the "White Swan".

Four planes, like swans spreading their wings, floated lightly from the distant sky towards the airport.

There is no sign of the heaviness that a 400-ton vehicle should have.

Only elegance.

It must be admitted that in terms of aviation aesthetics, the Soviets, like the British, have reached a certain limit.

It’s just that the directions of the two limits are opposite.

From an aviation design perspective, the Tu-160 has almost identical design features to its old rival, the B1B.

But when the two planes are placed next to each other, their appearance gives people a completely different feeling.

"I'm coming!"

At this moment, excited shouts finally broke out from the viewing stands.

After his rebirth, Chang Haonan's five senses have become much sharper than those of ordinary people, so other people will see it later than him.

After a few dozen seconds, a total of eight J-160 fighter jets located on both sides of the four Tu-8s also appeared in front of everyone one after another.

Obviously, the distance is very close.

However, the fleet had no intention of landing directly.

Instead, a formation of 12 planes first made a low-speed pass directly above the airport.

Of course, to ensure safety, the height is not very low.

It was just enough to allow people on the ground to vaguely see the belly of the plane with their naked eyes.

Even so, Chang Haonan seemed to feel a stream of air coming from top to bottom, causing him to subconsciously hold his hat tightly.

There are many people who make similar actions as him.

Clearly, this is not an illusion.

As for those without hats...

More than one person revealed their Mediterranean secret because their hair was blown up...

It can be said that this is a feeling that no one has ever experienced...

A few minutes later, the four Tu-160s returned to the vicinity of the airport along the landing route.

The J-11s that were responsible for the escort mission have already left.

Yaocun Airport has only one runway, and the four bombers have to be arranged to land in sequence.

If there are another 8 planes, it will be a bit chaotic...

Under the command of the tower, the first plane lowered its landing gear and slowly floated down from outside the airport wall.

With a "squeak", the main landing gear hit the specially reinforced concrete runway surface, raising a cloud of green smoke produced by the friction of the rubber.

Immediately afterwards, three deceleration parachutes arranged in a "品" shape popped out from the cone-shaped part of the tail of the aircraft.

The sound made by the friction between the umbrella and the air can be heard even on the tarmac.

But this sound was immediately drowned out by the thunderous cheers from the viewing platform...

The publicity officer captured the moment when the plane slid across the runway in front of the viewing platform and quickly pressed the shutter.

The camera recorded the moment.

2001年11月15日，16时07分。

The first Tu-24, numbered "Red 160", landed at Lintong Yaocun Airport in China, becoming the first supersonic strategic bomber equipped by the Chinese Air Force.