The three generations of American fighters were all developed in the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1980s, the U.S. Air Force began the research and development of the next generation of fighter jets. The name of the project at that time was'ATF', which required stealth, super patrol, short takeoff, and so on.
Before the'ATF' project, the US military had already developed two stealth fighters, the F-117 and B-2, in the 1970s. Among them, the F-117'Nighthawk' was even more prominent in the Gulf War.
At that time, the country was still engaged in the'Jian Liu Wansui', and the second-generation J-7 was not long after its start. By the way, the J-8 parts were not universal.
The people who sent Jianba to the United States back then were really big-hearted. Where did they get the courage? This is like Xueba holding the exam papers and asking Xueba for guidance. Xueba looked at it and wondered if he had met a fool.
With the confidence of Americans, every progress of the'ATF' project is disclosed to the world. Some follow-up studies were also done in China, but they quickly gave up. This is simply not something that the low-end industrial system can handle.
However, since Zhou Qingfeng began to beat the domestic manufacturing industry, especially because of the many "smuggling" supercomputers, the country suddenly found that it seems that it can also conduct research on invisible technology.
You must know that the most important thing about the stealth technology is the appearance of the body. The angular and weird appearance of the F-117 was created when the computing power was insufficient.
When I studied B-2, the computing power gradually kept up, and the appearance became much more rounded. When it came time to develop the F-22, the US's computing power was far less than the PS3 given by Zhou Qingfeng. However, it is completely affluent in the appearance of the computer body.
With the PS3, China has found that it seems to be able to do it, but the confidence is still not enough. In the technical demonstration stage of the'Red Tomcat', most of the aerodynamic layout is still based on the improvement of the F-14A.
But Zhou Qingfeng brought in a group of'American experts'. They worked very hard to obtain the Red Dragon Potion and brought a lot of current design information about the F-22.
If you want to play, just play based on the'ATF' project benchmarking.
American experts quickly overturned the design plan based on the'Tomcat', which was the result of aerodynamic research in the 1960s, and it was still used in the 1990s. Isn't it too late
The swept-back wing has been proved to be large and improper, expensive and complicated, and later it was useless at all. Its effectiveness can be achieved by many means such as canard wings and side strip wings.
As for the stealth shape and S-shaped intake, it is not worth mentioning for the computing power that can solve the DSI technology. The engine can be used with AL-31F first, and it is not that it can't fly.
A group of young and passionate domestic designers and a group of experienced American experts put together a bunch of them, and the result is that Zhou Qingfeng has built a "red bird of prey". In order to overcome the power defect, many lifting methods such as canard wings were used.
Is this plan difficult
Of course there is.
Just a glass canopy is a big problem.
In addition, the United Avionics used in the F-22 is also a field that has never been touched in China, and the phased array radar of GaN is a difficult point that has not been broken. Even a permeable skin is a stumbling block in research and development.
"Zhou." The researcher at Hongdu Factory scratched his scalp and looked at Zhou Qingfeng.
Zhou Qingfeng was silly for a long time, looking at the wooden model of the'Red Raptor', faintly said: "Is this thing ready to be sent into a microwave darkroom for invisibility testing?"
"Right, right, right." The researcher kept thinking, "but we don't have a large microwave anechoic chamber yet. This thing is very expensive. But American experts say they have a mature plan, it depends on the budget.
Zhou Qingfeng complained: "Don't the military give money?"
The researcher also smiled bitterly: "Last year, a lot of nuclear submarine experts from the former Soviet Union were dug in China. They felt that the national economy was developing in a good direction, so they gritted their teeth and launched the nuclear submarine project.
You know that the priority level of nuclear submarines is much higher than ours, and it is a bottomless pit for military expenditures. So the money that can be allocated to us is not much, but less. We also complained to our superiors. But the leader said, isn't you still there? "
The researcher looked at Zhou Qingfeng eagerly, "The Air Force said that it can build a basic model first. It does not require the level of the latest U.S. fighter aircraft, but can surpass their current main fighter aircraft. As long as we can build it, they will definitely buy it."
Zhou Qingfeng sighed for it.
The most important thing about the fourth-generation fighter is stealth.
Like the Su 57 with a straight tube inlet by Da Mao, it's invisible as a ghost. Fortunately, they have the face to go to our country to register a patent, hoping to sell this scam product to us. This is purely deceiving a fool.
Stealth does not mean that it is impossible to find, but it greatly compresses the radar detection range. Even if various media outlets say that the meter wave radar specifically restrains invisibility, the fourth-generation fighters can achieve great tactical advantages.
As long as the invisible flight platform can be fixed, the radar avionics power and so on can be improved later. Stealth technology is not good, no matter how good the other is, it is still a third-generation machine.
The model of Hongdu Factory has received many superiors who come to investigate. Everyone is very excited to learn that the country is capable of tracking the fourth-generation fighter aircraft being developed by the US military.
But Zhou Qingfeng was not excited, and his face was expressionless. Researchers at the Hongdu Factory also sink in their hearts. The latter also knows that this leapfrog development is difficult, and many technologies are still blank in China, and they don’t know where to get the stealth paint alone.
"Zhou, we want to lay a foundation and run in small steps. Several domestic units are also eager to start new projects. The Xi'an side originally wanted to change the boom, but recently there was news that it was going to be'hidden boom'.
Shenyang also wants to compete with us, even if it does not engage in'hidden war', they also want to engage in special'hidden attack'. If Chengdu is not for the No. 10 project, I'm afraid it will have a share of the pie.
But the sub-system of the fourth-generation machine is too advanced for us. Everyone hopes that after the brother unit breaks through, just grab it and use it by yourself. In fact, it is just looking at us. "
While talking, the researcher took Zhou Qingfeng to the other corner of the model workshop, and pulled a large piece of plastic cloth to reveal another fighter model. He laughed self-deprecatingly: "This is the plan we chose before."
Compared with the shocking'Red Raptor' just now, the fighter in front of me is much more usual. The aerodynamic shape is basically a double-engined enlarged version of the No. 10 project, with many details clearly copied from the'Tomcat' and the'Fighting Falcon'.
"Zhou, if we can't get enough investment, we can only carry out research and development according to this plan. Technically speaking, it is much more stable and basically not too difficult. But..."
As the researcher sighed, Zhou Qingfeng understood the meaning of "but behind".
No matter how good the dual-engine No. 10 project is, it is also a third-generation machine. There is a generation difference between the two. The performance of the higher generation is enough to beat the lower generation, otherwise it would not be divided into three generations and four generations.
"How much investment does it take to build a fourth-generation machine?"
"There are too many missed classes. Even with the guidance of American experts, we need to work hard. It will take at least ten years to make up all the shortcomings, plus more than 100 billion investment."
"What if it's just a basic invisible platform?"
"Without consideration of radar and avionics, using existing engines requires tens of billions of funds, five years. This is already an optimistic consideration. If you are conservative, maybe in seven or eight years."
Researchers at the Hongdu Factory looked at Zhou Qingfeng. No one dared to think about such a large investment. Zhou Qingfeng looked back and forth between the two wooden models. He finally sighed: "Well, to be a hero, you have to take responsibility. Build a fourth-generation machine!"
"Really?" The researcher was about to sigh, and screamed after hearing this.
Zhou Qingfeng nodded affirmatively, repeating the goal he set for himself in his heart, "If you want to do it, do the best, and don't accept mediocrity. After all, I just like to stand high and be a hero!"